The House of Fate
by WordsAreABeautifulWeapon
Summary: Rachel and Puck are married, living happily in Lima and hanging with their best friend, Finn. Puck tries to set Finn up with Quinn, the only problem is that Finn's hopelessly in love with Rachel. Is he too late? Or does he still have a chance?
1. All of You

**A/N:** Okay! So, this takes place in an AU, 10 years after everyone graduated from McKinley. Finn and Rachel never dated, instead she and Noah Puckerman were high school sweethearts, and are now married. Quinn never dated Finn or Puck. Finn, Puck, and Rachel are all best friends; Finn is in love with Rachel. Yippee, let's go!  
>Oh and this first chapter is probably going to be super dialogue heavy because in my Creative Writing class at school, we're working on play writing so I haven't written body text in quite a while. Oh and I use flashbacks a lot. Okay this is long enough. Read on!<br>Song: youtube[dot]com/ /watch?v=hK-2Kf22MTk

Finn Hudson knew he was being stupid. He knew it every time he went over to the Puckerman house. But did that stop him? Nope. Didn't even come close. He was silently cussing himself out as he waited for Rachel or Puck to answer the door. 

"Finny!" the voice of the perky brunette carried through the door. A few seconds later it opened and Rachel bounced into Finn's arms. He gently hugged her, cautious as he always was around her. 

"Rach! Where's Puck?" Finn asked, pulling away slightly. Rachel's grip didn't loosen. She was surprisingly strong for her tiny size. 

"Noah," Rachel corrected. "He's upstairs. His mom called this morning." 

Rachel's voice dropped causing Finn to pull her back into his arms. He hated when she was upset, especially when it was about Puck. Puck and his mom hadn't talked in six years, and it always made Rachel tense up. Rachel's mom had put her up for adoption, and though she loved her two dads, she missed the presence of a mother figure. She couldn't believe Puck was so willing to give it up. 

"Hey man," Puck called from the window. He was in his office, which was located directly above the front door. "I'll be right down."

"Don't bring it up. He may not show it, but I know he misses his mom and this is upsetting him," Rachel said, it sounded more like she was trying to reassure herself than inform Finn. He promised not to bring it up anyways.

"So dude, don't be peeved, but I set you up with a date for tonight," Puck confessed when he reached the bottom of the stairs. Rachel ushered them both into the living room, not noticing how awkward Finn was acting. She went to the kitchen to get them all drinks.

"You what? I wondered why Rachel was so obsessed with tonight's dinner plans!" Finn exploded. He couldn't exactly say '_I don't want to go on a blind date because I'm in love with your wife and have been for 13 years._'

"Yeah…but it's not a stranger…" Puck mumbled. He had been hoping Finn hadn't heard him. No such luck.

"I know her? Puck, who is it?" Finn asked. Who in the world was he about to have dinner with? And would she know how in love he was with Rachel? A surprising amount of people did.

"_NOAH!_" Rachel screeched from the kitchen. Both Puck and Finn laughed; Rachel kept trying to kill Puck's high school nickname, but it was impossible. She was the only one who called him Noah.

"Well, um…Do you remember Quinn Fabray?" Puck choked out. Quinn Fabray? How could Finn forget, she was his first high school crush; he liked her all of freshman year, as did the rest of the freshman class. He had almost asked her out, and then he met Rachel.

"You set me up on a date with Quinn Fabray? The Quinn Fabray? The most popular girl at McKinley? How in the world do you know her?" Finn was flustered and overwhelmed. He_ did not _want to go on a date with Quinn Fabray.

"Well about a week ago she came into my shop to get her car fixed, and recognized me from high school. We started talking, and she asked about you. Apparently, she had been waiting for you to ask her out all of high school, crazy right?"

"Yeah, crazy…" Finn whispered. Rachel sauntered back into the room and set down a tray of, undoubtedly spiked, lemonade. She had a glass of water for herself. Puck pulled her onto his lap and she giggled; Finn wanted to throw up.

Finn looked away, and then excused himself to go to the bathroom. He sat on the side of the bathtub and closed his eyes, remembering a time far away, when he almost had a chance Rachel.

_-10 years earlier-_

It was a week before graduation. Rachel and Puck were broken up and Finn knew after graduation he'd be completely out of chances. Rachel was going to New York, and Puck was following her. Rachel had told Finn she thought that since they broke up, he'd stay in Ohio, but Finn knew better.

He wanted to tell Rachel to forget about Puck. That he was a better man, and if it meant they could be together he'd tell Ohio State he didn't care about the scholarship, he was going to New York. He would throw away his chance to play pro football and follow her to the ends of the earth, if only she'd let him.

The only thing stopping him from telling her all that was Puck. Puck, his best friend, the guy he'd grown up with, who had been there for him through his dad's death, through his mom's second marriage, through everything. Puck, who loved Rachel almost as much as Finn did. Puck, who was throwing away his Ohio life to follow Rachel to New York, because she would let him.

Finn was sitting in the choir room alone. Glee had ended half an hour ago, but he couldn't seem to make his legs work. His brain seemed to be using every ounce of energy he had to think about Rachel, and the 7 days he had left with her. He knew she'd still be in Ohio during the summer, at least physically. Her mind and heart would already be in New York though; and he was sure this break-up with Puck wouldn't last long. Just the other day Puck had been talking about ways to win her back.

"Finny?" Rachel's voice was permanently stuck in his mind. Wait, that wasn't in his head. Finn looked up to see her standing in the doorway. He tried to ask why she had come back but he couldn't seem to form the words.

She walked over and sat in the hard, plastic chair next to him. He was rendered utterly breathless when she placed a delicate hand on his knee. She began to hum the opening notes of _All of You_ by Colbie Caillat. It was Finn's favorite song, as dorky as that was. He imagined himself singing it to Rachel if she ever left Puck for him. 

_So tell me everything  
>Tell me every little thing<br>And I won't run away  
>No matter what you say<br>I wanna hear your heart  
>Every single beating part<br>The good and the bad  
>I swear I won't be mad<br>It's you I want  
>All of you<em> 

Rachel's voice carried through the choir room. Normally when she sang it relaxed him; not today. He tensed at the lyrics; he tensed because of how close she was, and how good she smelled. For a second he closed his eyes and let himself imagine what would happen if he kissed her right then.

"You don't really have to tell me if you don't want to. I was just trying to cheer you up," Rachel said. She had finished the song and they had been sitting silently, Rachel scratching Finn's back. "I can leave if you want me to."

"N-no, don't leave. I just, I don't know how to start," Finn stammered lamely. And it was true; he had no idea what to say. "Rach, do you remember when we met?"

"Of course! That stupid play in English, when we had to play awkward high schoolers. Didn't I have to say something like "You can kiss me if you want to?" on the first day we met?" Rachel laughed. Finn loved her laugh; it was loud and sudden, quite similar to Rachel herself.

"Y-yeah, and then I said I wanted to, even though I was supposed to push you away disgusted," Finn remembered. He remembered perfectly.

"And then from the back of the auditorium Mr. Schuester yelled to keep going with it and kiss me. And then you kissed me, and then you ran away. I still don't understand why you did that," suddenly Rachel's voice was quiet, she was upset. Tears were forming in her eyes and she was gripping Finn's hand so tightly, as if she could squeeze the answers out of it.

"I-I'm s-so sorry Rach…I was…I –" Finn stopped when Puck burst into the room with pink roses. Pink, not white and red. Finn had told him a million times to get Rachel 6 white and 6 red roses. Instead, the buffoon had gotten 12 pink.

"Noah?" Rachel jumped out of her seat and ran to Puck, smashing the flowers in an effort to kiss him. That was how Finn lost his chance.

**-x-**

He looked around the bathroom. There was a vase of pink roses on the counter. After 10 years, the buffoon still didn't know what flowers to get. Finn laughed to himself, and then stood up. He didn't want to spend too much time hidden in their bathroom; they might think he was pooping.

Finn walked back to the living room, where Rachel and Puck had been five minutes ago. The lemonade was abandoned on the table, he could hear Rachel's laugh upstairs. That laugh still filled his dreams at night, and he started to follow the sound. It was coming from behind their closed bedroom door. Finn turned on his heals and went back to the couch. He downed half the _very_ hard lemonade in one drink, making his head spin.

Not even ten minutes later, Rachel came down stairs glowing and fixing her hair. She cleared the now empty lemonade pitcher and glasses from the table, smiling at Finn and humming. He recognized the tune, _All of You_. That sobered him up quickly. He bit his lip to hold back the words he wanted to say. Rachel came back and sat next to Finn on the sofa, still humming. It seemed like forever before Puck came downstairs.

"Well, alright! Babe, what time do we gotta meet Quinn at Breadstix?" Puck asked. He shuffled into the kitchen, wearing nothing but a wife beater, boxers, and socks. He retrieved a beer from the fridge and gulped some of it down before continuing. "Cuz after that 'm gonna need a shower."

Rachel burst out laughing, telling Puck he was gross. They had an hour so she sent him to the shower, and then turned to look at Finn. Her mind was racing. She leaned into Finn's side and he instinctively wrapped his arm around her. When they were in high school, they used to cuddle up and watch movies, much to Puck's disapproval. It had been 8 years since they'd done this.

_-8 years earlier-_

Rachel knew there was a large possibility it wouldn't work out. In fact, she had predicted it would happen just like this. Two years after high school and she'd be boarding a plane to Ohio, with some of her belongings in a suitcase and the others in boxes on their way.

Puck had gotten fed up with her crazy audition schedule six months ago and moved back to Ohio. She kept trying to make everything work for herself in New York. She kept going to auditions, even when she couldn't come home and cry into her boyfriend's arms when they didn't go well. Soon enough, the pay from waitressing wouldn't cover her rent. Without Puck as a roommate, the place was way out of her budget. She had known that, but didn't want to move.

She boarded her plane, sending her dads a quick text to let them know she was on her way home. For the millionth time, she thought about calling Puck; instead, she turned off her phone and put it in her purse. When she fell asleep on the plane, she expected to dream she was in Puck's arms. She didn't; she dreamed she was in Finn's.

The passenger next to her, a fanatic mother with her three year old daughter, woke her when the plane landed. Rachel ran her hand through her hair and over her face, only to realize she'd been crying in her sleep. The mom handed her a tissue, Rachel accepted it gratefully and then grabbed her purse and her carry on and headed to the baggage claim. By the time she got there, she was sobbing.

It only figured that the carousel her bags were supposed to come through would break. She heard the announcement and then went to find Baggage Claim 13C. As she started walking she felt a little hand tug her skirt; she looked down and saw the kid from the airplane.

"Missy, is you 'kay-kay?" The girl asked. Despite how upset she felt, Rachel laughed. The little girl's face was sticky and covered with blue candy. She had mismatched socks and her shirt was inside out. Her mom was standing a few steps behind, holding a pink Barbie back-pack and a black suitcase.

"I'm okay sweetie. Hi, I'm Rachel, what's your name?" Rachel couldn't help it. She loved kids.

She took the little girl's hand, and they walked towards the girl's mother. She learned that the girl's name was Elizabeth and she was three but only for four more weeks because then she was going to be a big girl and be four and do four year old stuff. Elizabeth's mom supplied her with an endless supply of tissues while Elizabeth told her stories. They sat like that for a half hour, Rachel didn't even notice when Elizabeth's mom got Rachel's suitcases off the carousel.

"Two years and you still act the same when a kid's involved." The voice was familiar; it was a voice that came to her when she was depressed. It haunted her favorite dreams and her favorite memories. She looked up to see the person the voice belonged to, a very tired looking and rugged Finn Hudson. She dropped the piece of candy Elizabeth had handed her and ran into Finn's arms.

He told her that Leroy and Hiram had called him and asked him to pick her up. They went back to his place and she curled up in his arms while they watched The Sound of Music. She told him about all her failed auditions; he told her about his knee injury and losing his scholarship. Finally, she told him about how Puck had walked out and they hadn't talked in six months.

"Rach, I know. Did you forget that Puck's my best friend? Six months ago he showed up on my door step, crying. He's called me crying every single night since. The real question is: are you going to tell him you're back?" Finn asked. She didn't know what to say. "Y-you sh-should. You still love him; I can see it on your face."

She promised she'd call Puck in the morning. They finished watching the movie and Rachel asked Finn if she could spend the night. He of course agreed and started to get up to retrieve his air mattress. Rachel pulled him back. She muffled her sobs in his chest and he rocked her to sleep. He sang to her; _All of You_ by Colbie Caillat.

When she woke up, Finn wasn't there. There was a note on his night stand, with her cell phone sitting on top of it. She struggled to read Finn's chicken scratch handwriting. '_Went for a run, call your dads and then call Puck_' that's all it said. She thought she had felt something change between them the night before, but she must have been wrong.

**-x-**

After Puck showered, Rachel changed into her favorite dress and the three of them left for the restaurant. Finn was nervous; Quinn knew. She had to know, she had to remember him following Rachel around like a lost puppy in high school. Senior year she had made advances at him and he had run away, terrified.

When they got to Breadstix, Quinn was already there. She was sitting at a table sipping a martini. She had on a sleek black dress that complimented her still phenomenal figure; her blonde hair was curled and swooped to one side. She looked entirely too dressed up for Breadstix; she looked too dressed up for anything in Lima, Ohio.

Dinner was awkward. Quinn alternated between slightly scowling at Puck and Rachel and ogling Finn. She didn't talk, and neither did Finn. Puck and Rachel were too busy feeding each other to notice. After dinner, Puck and Rachel announced they were gonna walk home and tossed Finn the car keys. He was left alone at the table with Quinn.

"Does he know?" Quinn asked. They ordered a piece of chocolate cake to share. Quinn was finally talking, between chocolaty bites.

"Does who know what?" Finn knew what Quinn was asking but he wouldn't admit it. She gave him her signature bitch look, the same one she had back in high school, and he shoved a huge bite of cake into his mouth. "Fine. No, he doesn't know. Neither does she. I'd like to keep it that way."

"Back in high school, she knew. Senior year, she came to me. I don't know if you remember, you seemed kind of oblivious back then, but I tried to kiss you after our duet in Glee. You ran away, and she dragged me to the girl's room. She knew you loved her, she was going to break up with Puck for you." Quinn stopped talking when she saw the look on Finn's face.

The incident mentioned had happened a month before graduation. Puck had broken up with Rachel the next day, with no explanation at all. Rachel had been heartbroken, or so Finn thought. She had slept over that night, curled up in his arms, _All of You_ on repeat playing through Finn's speakers.

"She was going to – and then he – but, what?" Finn stammered out.

"She wanted to be with you Finn. She came to me right after the break up and asked me what she should do, I told her to go after you. She did, but you were oblivious. And eventually, she gave up." 

Finn thought back to that night. At around 4am he had heard her voice in his dreams. She had said "if we got together, do you think Puck would be mad?" Now he realized, that wasn't his dreams. She had actually said that. And when he woke up, he had gone for a run to clear his head. He had simply left a note saying maybe she should try calling Puck. He was an idiot. He wondered if he was too late…


	2. Always Remember

**A/N:** Okay so I decided that every chapter would have a song to go with it, and the song will be the chapter name. This chapter's song is: youtube[dot]com/watch?v=MmK-ee3kgFM  
>And also, before the flashbacks I'm going to put -<em># years earlier<em>- and when it switches back to the future is will say **-x-.** I'll fix and repost the last chapter with that and with a link to the song.

After dinner Finn had to drive Puck's car back to the Puckerman house and get his own car. Quinn asked if she could ride along. She didn't own a car, her daddy had a driver but she was getting sick of fancy cars. Flabbergasted, Finn said yes.

"So you still use daddy's money?" Finn joked. Quinn's dad was the richest man in Ohio, back in high school that meant a lot. Now-a-days, it could but her things but it couldn't buy her love.

"Technically, it's the company's money. Which I'm a part of. So it's kind of my money now," Quinn explained. Her dad was an entrepreneur. The company, Fabray Inc., was going to be passed on to Quinn when her dad retired in two years.

"Wow…so did you really go to Yale? Graduate top of the business department? That's what Puck told me," Finn asked. Quinn had really made something of herself, just like she always said she would. He was impressed.

"Don't act so surprised!" Quinn laughed and nodded.

"I think you're the only person from New Directions who actually followed their dreams and accomplished what they said they'd accomplish."

"That's not true. Puck wanted to own a car repair shop, which he does. Kurt and Blaine are on Broadway. Artie is a world renowned doctor for paraplegics. Tina and Mike own a dance studio. Mercedes just finished her first major motion picture. Brittany and Santana are doing god knows what in Cali, but they're together and that was all they really wanted. You and Rachel are the only ones who didn't get to follow your dreams…" Quinn offered a sad smile.

"Oh…wow…But Sam, didn't he want to – oh, he directed Mercedes' movie, didn't he? And I just got their wedding invitation…Wow…" Finn suddenly felt like the world was too big for him, and it was moving way to fast. He thought back to the day Mr. Schuester asked them about what they wanted their futures to be like, back in junior year.

-_11 years earlier_-

"Future! Your assignment this week is to find a song that represents what you want your future to be like. Now I understand that seems kind of challenging, so we're gonna talk about it first. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?" William Schuester asked, writing 'Future' on the board in huge letters.

"Broadway!" Kurt and Rachel squealed at the same time; followed by a huge grin, giggle, and "twinsies!"

"I'm going to own Fabray Inc., after graduating top of my class from Yale," Quinn said, matter of factly, from the back of the room.

"Playing pro football," Finn offered. It came out as a question, because he was secretly hoping Rachel would say 'nope, you'll be with me in New York.' She didn't.

"With Rachel in New York, maybe own a car repair shop," Puck remarked. Rachel smiled and kissed him, eliciting many 'ews' from the rest of the group.

"Broadway, with Kurt," Blaine said. He squeezed Kurt's hand, opting not to kiss him. Puck and Rachel did enough PDA for every couple in the Glee club combined; the rest of them tried to avoid it.

"Staring in my own movie," Mercedes announced. She was a bit of a diva, but only where Rachel was involved. They were in constant competition for the spot light, and somehow managed to be best friends. The two of them plus Kurt made up an unstoppable trio.

"Married to Mercedes," Sam proclaimed. Sam and Mercedes had dated the previous summer, but were broken up. Sam was always trying to win her back from her over-protective, jock boyfriend. Mercedes rolled her eyes. "And uh directing movies and stuff."

"Together," Santana whispered to Brittany. Brittany giggled, and then informed everyone that they were going to be living in California.

"Mike and I are going to own a dance studio," Tina said.

"I'm going to walk. And help other paraplegics walk," Artie declared.

"Wow, you guys have such great plans!" Schuester exclaimed. "So now, the question is, what songs can you sing to show those dreams? Emma gave me a bunch of song books with songs that I've never heard of, so let's get to work!"

"Uh Mr. Schue? I already have a song…and if I don't sing it now I'll lose my nerve," Finn said anxiously.

"Oh? You have a song about football?" Mr. Schuester seemed confused.

"Uh no, but I have a different hope for my future…can I just sing my song?" Finn stammered. Mr. Schuester nodded and Finn anxiously walked to the front of the room. He began to sing, looking straight at Rachel and pretending no one else was in the room.

_Always remember I'm by your side  
>Such a shame that you had to go<br>So much more that I'd like to know  
>So many things you forgot to show me how to do<em>

_When times are hard I forget your gone  
>I go to call you before it dawns on me<br>That you won't be there now  
>But I still have these words that you gave me<em>

_Always remember I'm by your side_

After Finn finished singing _Always Remember_ by Train he awkwardly took his seat. No one said anything; everyone, except Rachel, followed Mr. Schuester to the library to look at song books. Rachel moved to the seat next to Finn.

"Hi," she said timidly. He didn't know how to respond, so he just buried his face in his hands. Rachel kissed him on the cheek before continuing. "Thanks Finn…for being you. I have to go find Puck."

Finn watched Rachel walk away. He hoped that Puck was too stupid to realize what the song meant, and who it was for. It was 8pm when Finn finally left the choir room, three hours after Glee ended. When he got to his car, there was a sticky note on it. It was from his step-brother.

_Don't give up hope; she won't be happy with him forever. And you know, I can talk to her during one of our sleepovers if you want me to. I'll see you at home._

_-Kurt_

**-x-**

"Fate has a funny way of giving everyone what they want eventually. Don't give up hope; she won't be happy with him forever," Quinn said as they pulled into the Puckerman driveway.

"Kurt said the same thing back in high school, but I don't think it's true. She seems happy," Finn admitted.

"For now. And in the mean time, how about you give me the chance you never did in high school?" Quinn winked. Finn laughed, because there was no way the richest girl in Ohio was begging him to date her. But she was right; he needed to let himself be with someone else, at least temporarily.

They got out of Rachel and Puck's car and Finn sent Puck a text saying their car keys were in their mailbox. He grabbed his own from his pocket and he and Quinn got in his car. He drove towards the house Quinn had been living in since she was born, the house Finn used to wish he lived in. Now, he wished he lived in Puck's house, but only because Rachel was in it.

When they got to Quinn's house Finn walked her up to the door. He thanked her for a wonderful first date, and said he couldn't wait for their second. They both knew that when he kissed her goodnight, he was wishing it was Rachel.

He drove home trying not to think about what Rachel and Puck were doing. As far as his dinners with them went, tonight's was pretty good. Having Quinn there lessened the pain, and he was genuinely excited for his next date with her. She was gorgeous, and they had fun. She wasn't Rachel, but she was a good second choice.

Back at the Puckerman household, Rachel was feeling ill. She was nauseous and her chest hurt. She felt angry for no reason at all and she had a migraine. The symptoms weren't new, she'd felt this before. The last time it was this extreme was when Quinn had told her not to leave Puck for Finn.

-_10 years earlier_-

Finn had asked Rachel to be his duet partner, and she had wanted to say yes. But then Puck came up, and he already had a song picked out. He was her boyfriend, so Finn understood when she went with him instead.

Rachel had hoped that Finn would pick his step-brother as a duet partner, but Kurt was of course with Blaine. Rachel wasn't surprised when Quinn and Finn stood in front of the group together, preparing to sing.

"Um, I sang this last year, but Quinn and I kinda thought it might sound cooler as a duet and Mr. Schue said it was okay, so um we're singing_ Always Remember _by Train," Finn told the group.

As they stated to sing, Rachel felt nauseous. He had been singing to her last year, right? So why was he singing it to Quinn now? Had he moved on? By the end of the song, Rachel was near tears and her head was killing her. Puck tried to put his arm around her and she shot him a glare; she didn't know why she was so angry.

The song finished and everyone watched speechless as Quinn stood on her tip toes and leaned in to kiss Finn. She got closer, and closer, and Rachel closed her eyes. Then there was a crashing noise followed by loud gasps from her classmates. Rachel opened her eyes to see a bunch of chairs knocked over, and Finn nowhere in sight. She jumped up and grabbed Quinn's wrist, dragging her to the nearest bathroom.

"Um what just happened?" Rachel asked Quinn, checking the bathroom stalls to make sure they were alone.

"I think he ran away…I'm not sure why, I was just going to kiss him." Quinn sounded angry, very angry.

"Quinn, can you keep a secret?" Rachel felt like if she didn't tell someone what she was thinking, she'd explode. The anger was boiling in her chest; she had a new definition for 'heart burn.'

"Probably," Quinn answered. She looked bored and furious, and when Rachel didn't speak she snapped "just spit it out Berry, I don't have all day."

"I'm going to break up with Noah because I want to be with Finn," Rachel mumbled. Just saying it relieved some of the pressure she was feeling in her chest. She let out a sigh.

"Don't." Quinn's single word made all the pressure and anger come rushing back to Rachel's chest. Quinn was glaring at Rachel when she spoke again. "You'll start dating and you'll string him along for a while and then you'll just leave him when Puck comes begging. Finn doesn't deserve to get his heart broken, especially when he's finally starting to move on."

Suddenly Rachel's hand collided with Quinn's cheek. They both gasped; there was simply no way Rachel had just slapped the most popular girl in school. For a minute they just stared at each other, Rachel in pure shock and Quinn in boiling rage. Finally Quinn spoke.

"You know what Rachel? Do whatever the fuck you want, but don't expect him to stay friends with you after you break his heart." She stormed out of the bathroom, leaving Rachel alone and questioning her judgment. What if Quinn was right? What if Rachel did break Finn's heart? She couldn't imagine her life without him; was this worth the potential to ruin their friendship?

The next morning, Rachel was going to break up with Puck. It was a Friday, so she hoped that she and Finn could go on their first date right away. When she got to school she went looking for Puck, but he found her first.

"Hey uh, I think we should see other people," Puck rushed out. He gave her a hug and walked away.

Rachel was stunned. It couldn't be that easy, could it? Since Puck had broken up with her, Finn probably wouldn't feel bad dating her. And she always spent the night at the Hummel-Hudson house after a fight with Puck, so nothing would seem out of the ordinary. She found Finn in the choir room and told him what happened, he told her to come over right after school.

That night she curled up in his arms and he sang her _Always Remember_ until he was too tired to keep singing. Then he put his favorite song on repeat on his iPod and they fell asleep. She woke up around 4am and nudged him.

"If we got together, do you think Puck would be mad?" She whispered. He didn't respond, he was sound asleep. She closed her eyes and decided to ask him when they woke in the morning.

However, when she woke up, she was alone in his bed. She reached for her cell phone and there was a note from Finn under it. '_Went for a run. Maybe you should try calling Puck._' That was all it said. Maybe Quinn had been right, maybe Finn was starting to move on.

**-x-**

Puck knew that sometimes Rachel had weird mood swings. They usually came when she started thinking about Broadway, or when Kurt called to say he or Blaine landed the lead in another show. He didn't know what was causing tonight's burst of anger, but he knew he was spending that night on the couch.

Rachel was grateful that Puck didn't even try to sleep with her that night. She offered him a tiny smile, even though her eyes stayed angry, when he took a blanket and pillow to the couch. She curled up in their king size bed, alone.

She tried to tell herself it was just habit to wish Finn was holding her. He always held her when she was upset, so the fact she wished he was there didn't mean anything. She grabbed her iPod off the nightstand and put_ Always Remember _on repeat. She resisted the urge to call Finn, and then cried herself to sleep.

When she woke up there was a text from Finn waiting in her inbox. She couldn't help the smile that spread across her face, and then fell when she read the actual text. She replied before she got out of bed to go make Puck and herself some breakfast.

**Finn [9:08am]: **Hey, thanks for last night. Quinn and I had a great time. Tell Puck I said thanks, and that my second date with her isn't gonna be a double date.

**Rachel [10:27am]: **Oh I'm so glad you had fun! I'll tell NOAH :) Also, my dads are coming here for dinner tonight and they invited you to join, please come! I'd tell you to invite Quinn, but I'm pretty sure my dada hates her.

Finn wasn't happy with Rachel's reply. He had kind of been hoping she'd be jealous. He wanted to text back and tell her he couldn't come that night, so he surprised himself when he texted back saying he'd see her around six.

Finn adored Rachel's dads; and he found it funny that her Dada, Leroy, hated Quinn. Fabray Inc. had sort of screwed him over in a business deal so he hated everyone in the Fabray family. Finn would just keep it to himself that he was dating Quinn; he didn't need Leroy hating him. That night as he got ready for the dinner he remembered when he went to Leroy and Hiram for advice on Rachel.

_-7 years earlier-_

Finn was tired of Kurt's advice. After Rachel had returned from New York, she reunited with Puck and Finn flew out to visit Kurt. He didn't know what else to do; but when he was there, Kurt had almost no time for him, and when they did talk Kurt would just say 'it'll work out' or 'she won't be happy with him forever.'

Finally, feeling completely lost and hopeless, Finn drove to the house Rachel grew up in. He had been there so many times; it was purely out of instinct that he drove there. He didn't know where he was going until he pulled into her driveway.

Hiram answered the door, shocked to see Finn. He asked if perhaps Rachel hadn't told him that she was living with Puck in a house they bought, that she moved out six months ago. Finn assured Hiram that he knew that, but he really needed to talk to him and Leroy. 

Leroy made them all tea, a calming herb blend that Finn had been drinking since he was 14. It was all Rachel had to offer him the first time he went to her house, freshman year. He hated it at first, but now it was his favorite drink.

"Okay, so I have something I need to admit to you guys," Finn finally said as they crowed around the small dining table.

"If you're going to say you're in love with our daughter, save it. We've known for seven years Finn. We kept hoping she'd end up with you and not that Puckerman fellow," Leroy admitted.

"But if she's happy, we're happy," Hiram said, directed at his husband. "Why did you come to us Finn?" 

"I…I really don't know…I just don't know what to do anymore. Being friends with her…it hurts…knowing that Puck hurts her so much and I can't do anything to help. It kills me." Finn was near tears. Leroy and Hiram looked at him sympathetically.

"Finn, just be there for her. She's smart, and strong. If Noah hurts her then she'll leave him. This might not be the best thing for her parents to be telling you, but be there to catch her when he eventually lets her fall. None of us can control her choices so we just have to stand by and love her while we wait for her to make the right choice." Leroy's voice filled Finn with hope. If her dads could see it, eventually Rachel would too. They were meant to be together.

He thanked them both and left. In the car he sang to himself, _Always Remember._

**-x-**

Finn was repeating Leroy's words to himself as he drove to Rachel and Puck's house. She had to see the truth eventually, and he'd wait a lifetime if he had to. Puck was his best friend, but Finn loved Rachel more than anything else in the world. Was it bad that he was hoping their marriage would fail?

"Yo dude, the door's unlocked, come right in. Rachel's in one of her moods, maybe you can cheer her up. She's locked herself in our room and her dads will be her in half an hour. Help me," Puck pleaded from his office window.

Rachel was upset? Why? If Puck did something, Finn would kill him. And what did Puck mean 'one of her moods?' Yeah, Rachel got upset a lot but all she needed was a little love to cheer her back up. Finn tried to calm his anger towards Puck down before he saw Rachel.

"Rach? It's Finn. You okay?" Finn asked, knocking on the bedroom door.

He heard sniffles and then the door opened. Rachel didn't say a thing, just crawled back into her bed. She was wearing a sweatshirt she had borrowed from Finn a month ago, when she spent the night on his couch after a fight with Puck. He climbed into the bed with her and wrapped his arms around her. She still wouldn't talk, so he sang to her. After he finished the last line of _Always Remember_ she finally turned to look at him.

"I'm sorry, I really don't know what's wrong with me," Rachel squeaked. Her voice was quiet, no louder than a mouse. It broke Finn's heart. "I was so angry when I went to sleep last night, but I wasn't angry at anything. And this morning when I was making pancakes I just burst into tears. I've been in bed ever since. I have no idea why."

"That's okay. Sometimes you don't need a reason to be upset. Sometimes, if you've been happy for a while, you're mind just wants to mess with you so it makes you feel upset. It happens to me all the time Rach. Come on, let's get you ready for dinner with your dads," Finn said to her. He felt relieved when she finally smiled at him.

"Thanks Finny. I wish Noah could understand that…he gets mad when I act like this." Rachel's face dropped again. Finn wanted to punch Puck in the face.

"Puck can be an idiot sometimes," Finn said as Rachel climbed out of bed. She grabbed a dress from her closet and walked towards the bathroom.

"Noah," she corrected before shutting the door.

Finn felt terrible for thinking it, but he knew this was just another crack in the wall that was Puck and Rachel's marriage. It was only a matter of time before the whole thing came crashing down and just like Leroy suggested, Finn would be there to catch Rachel.


	3. You're Not Sorry

**A/N:** The song is youtube[dot]com/watch?v=hfA0roTr9QM  
>Also, this took me quite a while to write because I parts of it make me angry, as they should, and then I didn't like writing them. So be prepared for that. Reviews inspire me! Please review!<p>

_**!**_

When Rachel woke up the next morning, Puck was missing. She slid out of bed and put on her favorite fuzzy socks and went downstairs looking for him, but he was nowhere to be found. Feeling anxious and confused she wandered back to her room and turned on her cell phone, there was a text waiting for her.

**Noah [12:03am]:** U went 2 sleep super early last night. Decided 2 spend the night Finn's place, see ya in the morn babe

Hmm. That was odd. Rachel didn't know why but for some reason she didn't trust Puck's text. There was something nagging at her about him spending the night at Finn's. She decided to text Finn, just in case.

**Rachel [10:56am]:** Finny! Did Noah really spend the night at your house? Is everything okay?  
><strong>Finn [11:34am]: <strong>Yeah, I just woke him up. He'll be home soon.

'_Well, at least he wasn't lying…but why did he spend the night there?' _Rachel thought to herself. She tried to remember if she had done anything to upset him. Oh, right, she had a terrible night the night before. He must have wanted to sleep somewhere other than the couch, and with Rachel asleep he couldn't ask her if he could sleep in the bed that night.

Finn had taken almost 40 minutes to reply to Rachel's text. He really hated lying to her. No, Puck had not spent the night at his house, but Puck had told him to say that. Finn actually had no idea where Puck slept last night, except that it wasn't in the Puckerman house and it wasn't in Finn's spare room. Puck had told him he just needed a night away from Rachel's sleep kicking. Finn wanted to believe that, so he forced himself to.

After he hit send, he called Puck. On the first try, it rang for a while then went to voicemail. On the second try, it went straight to voicemail. On the third try, Puck finally answered.

"What!" Puck barked.

"Rach was texting me. I said that I just woke you up and you'd be home soon. I don't know where the fuck you are, but you better get your ass home. I hate lying and I'm not covering your ass again, no matter what the reason," Finn said.

He hung up the phone before Puck could respond. If Puck didn't go home, Finn would tell Rachel that Puck left his house and he hasn't seen him since. The fact that he had to call Puck three times made him angry.

Puck finally got out of the motel room bed. It was empty; his guest had left an hour ago. He wasn't ready to go home but he knew Finn wasn't bluffing. He knew that if he wasn't home in the next 15 minutes, Rachel would somehow figure everything out. She always figured it out.

As Puck drove home from the motel, he thought about the six months he and Rachel weren't together; the time when he could fuck any girl he wanted, anywhere he wanted, and not need to rush home to a nagging wife.

_-8 years earlier-_

Puck had been home from New York for exactly one month. He had just finished moving into his new house, and completely out of his mom's apartment, so he decided he should celebrate. Being home, single, and horny, he went to the night club that had just opened a few blocks away.

He was only 20 so technically, he couldn't drink, but bartenders rarely carded him. The club was called Lucy Goosey and was founded by Fabray Inc., it was the grand opening. Puck knew the name should sound familiar to him but he didn't know why.

Puck was shocked to find there was no bouncer at the door. He walked right into the club and looked around; he noticed there were only 7 chicks; the room was filled with guys. He had a method for determining what girls were worth the fuck and what girls weren't.

Girl 1 was hovering next to a boy. She would anxiously and suspiciously look at the other girls in the room and then kiss the boy she was with. Jealous and possessive was not something Puck could handle. Girl 2 was making out with girl 3. Girl 4 looked way too much like Rachel. Girl 5 was fat and downing shots like there was no tomorrow. Girl 6 had potential but was nothing compared to girl 7.

Girl 7 looked familiar, but Puck had seen so many girls in the past few years. She had blonde hair cascading down and over her left shoulder and was sitting with an elderly gentleman. Her dress was the color of the wine in her hand and she seemed to be toasting the man she was with. Puck watched as she threw her head back in a laugh; it was decided.

Puck walked right up to the table the girl was sitting at. He didn't miss the way the girl turned to check him out better. When they met eyes, he lost his ability to speak. The girl laughed.

"Wow Puckerman, just as intelligent as always," the girl said. So he had met her before…but where?

"Quinn? You're even more beautiful than in high school, and I didn't think that was possible." Puck wasn't lying.

"Flattery? Are you trying to get yourself a free drink?" Quinn joked. "Because I do own the place, and I can do that."

"I wouldn't want to deny you anything, so sure," Puck winked. So that's why he knew the name. Quinn got him some drink called a Blue Whale.

"What ever happen to Berry? You break her heart again?" Quinn asked upon returning.

"Other way around. I loved her, she loved Broadway. But the real problem was, Broadway didn't love her. She's in New York, screwing and doing God knows what." Puck took a sip of his drink, it tasted like pineapple.

"You sound bitter. Puck, you're at a night club, talking to the owner, and drinking a free drink. Cheer up, or get out!" Quinn's laugh was infectious. After a few more free drinks, and a round of shots, Puck was laughing too.

The two of them headed to the photo booth in the corner of club. They were practically falling on top of each other as they walked, each using one another for support. They fell, in a laughing heap of arms and legs, onto the photo booth bench. The first three photos were goofy, but as the countdown started for the last frame, Puck took his chance. He kissed Quinn, and she kissed him back.

"Oooh! I love this song!" Quinn dragged Puck back to the dance floor; her dress looked even shorter as the moved her hips to the beat. The song was a sped up version of Taylor Swift's _You're Not Sorry_. Puck tried not to listen to the lyrics; besides, he and Rachel were broken up. 

_And you got your share of secrets  
>And I'm tired of being last to know<br>And now you're asking me to listen  
>Cause it's worked each time before<em>

Puck and Quinn stayed on the dance floor well past 3 a.m., even though the club closed at 2. Finally, Puck looked around him and noticed the stunning lack of other people. The bartender was just locking up his cabinets, having already cleaned the place. The DJ had gone home, but left his records playing. Puck learned there were benefits to being with the club owner.

"Quinn, I'm headed home. I'm guessing you don't want your father to know you're still here?" The bartender asked as he put on his coat. Quinn nodded and he continued, "Champagne's on the counter; won't stay chilled for long. Don't wreck the place, and be safe."

"Good man! Love yah!" Quinn slurred her words and the bartender rolled his eyes. Puck was too drunk and too confused to say or do anything, so he just held Quinn in his arms in the middle of the empty dance floor.

Soon enough they changed from standing and swaying to the music, to lying down and giggling uncontrollably. They had finished the bottle of Champagne, and had lost their clothes somewhere along the way.

By the end of the night, Puck was trying to convince himself that Quinn had just been a quick fuck and that he didn't have any feelings for her whatsoever. He was doing a terrible job. But as he looked at the beautiful, naked girl in his arms he really didn't care.

**-x-**

When Puck walked in he smelled pancakes; Rachel was feeling guilty. Puck tried to ignore the ache in his heart knowing his wife had felt guilty for being a little harsh with him and it barely fazed him that he was messing around with someone else. He loved Rachel, but she wasn't the only girl he loved.

"Baby? You home?" Rachel purred from the kitchen. Oh yes, she was feeling _very_ guilty. Puck walked into the kitchen to see Rachel in nothing but an apron, holding out a plate of homemade pancakes. She had a bit of flour on her nose and Puck wondered how someone could be so sexy and so adorable at the same time.

Puck devoured the pancakes like it was the first real food he'd had in weeks, then he followed the sound of his wife's humming back to their bedroom. He was about to open the door when he picked up the tune she was humming, _You're Not Sorry_, and almost vomited from the guilt.

"Wha-why are you humming that?" Puck stuttered as he entered their bedroom. He wondered if she somehow knew the truth about what he did last night. If Finn had told her, he'd have to kill the guy.

"I heard it on the radio this morning, I don't remember any of the lyrics anymore but it was one of my favorite songs when I was in New York," Rachel said absentmindedly. She was lying, naked, on the bed and clearly trying to seduce Puck with her eyes. Why was he not fucking her yet?

Puck crawled into bed next to his wife. He was kissing her but his mind was wandering to someone else. As Rachel moved her hands to remove Puck's pants he bolted out of the bed. It felt wrong, all of it felt wrong. Puck didn't miss the way tears welled up in her eyes and her lower lip jutted out. This was the third time in a month he'd done this.

Puck mumbled something about feeling sick and raced into the bathroom. Rachel pulled out her cell phone and called Finn, holding back tears. She knew Puck wasn't at Finn's house last night, and she hoped her muffled cries would be enough to convince Finn to tell her where he was.

"Rach? Hey, what's wrong?" Finn asked. He had heard the hitch in her breath as soon as he answered the phone. That only made her cry harder.

"I'm not stupid, tell me the truth. Where was Noah last night?" Rachel's words came out more like whines and it broke Finn's heart.

"I really don't know Rach, I'm so sorry. I don't know why I lied to you this morning, he wasn't at my house. But I honestly don't know where he was. I'm so sorry," Finn rushed out. He knew Puck would kill him for telling Rachel the truth but how could he lie when she was sobbing?

"Is he-" Rachel paused and took in a breath. Finn knew whatever she was about to ask would be painful. "Is he cheating on me?"

Finn let out a sigh. He didn't know how to answer her. Puck had never said anything about another girl, but Finn had his own suspicions. He figured Puck was cheating on Rachel but he didn't know for sure, and he didn't want to betray his friend without any proof. It was a long time before anyone spoke; the only sound was Rachel's muffled sobbing.

"Well, if he does say anything, even if it's just a little thing, please tell me. I need to know," Rachel finally said. Finn promised he'd call her if he figured anything out, then he told her he had to go and hung up the phone.

He didn't want to hang up on Rachel when she was quite obviously crying but it wasn't good for him to talk to her right before a date with Quinn. It was their second date, their first date alone, he wanted to focus on her.

Quinn had told Finn that she wanted to plan their date, and Finn was excited. Quinn wouldn't tell him anything about where they were going or what they were doing. When she picked him up she made him put on a blindfold and promise not to peek. Finn had to admit, he found that adorable.

"Quinn, where are we going? You're driving very fast and it's scaring me since I can't see anything!" Finn laughed. He was so tempted to remove his blindfold.

"Don't you dare peek," Quinn said as she swatted Finn's hand away from his own eyes. "It's a secret! Stop trying to spoil the fun!"

"You better not kill us," Finn joked as Quinn rounded a corner quicker than necessary. Quinn just laughed.

"Oh hush," Quinn mumbled. A minute later the car came to a stop. "Okay, we're here. Take the blindfold off."

Finn did as he was told to see they were in the parking lot of their old high school. He looked over to Quinn who was grinning like a child. He couldn't help but laugh at her excitement, even though he was extremely confused.

Quinn noticed the confusion hidden in Finn's eyes so she took his hand and pulled him along. She didn't want to tell them why they were there; he'd figure it out soon enough. She took the key out of her pocket and unlocked the front door of their former high school, leading him straight to a room they had spent many afternoons in. Once they were in the choir room she told Finn to take a seat and she walked over to the piano.

"You know, when we were in high school I liked you. A lot. I joined Glee hoping it would bring me closer to you, but instead I think it made you notice me less. This room has kind of held bad memories for me because of that and I wanted to change that," Quinn finally explained. "I had planned to prepare a song to express that, but I couldn't find one. So I am going to sing you something but uh, it doesn't really have anything to do with our situation."

Finn laughed and let Quinn's voice wash over him. He had no idea she played piano so well, and her voice was just as amazing as in high school. By the second verse of _You're Not Sorry_, Finn was starting to think it was better than Rachel's. After all, Rachel barely sang since returning to Lima.

When Quinn finished the song she looked up at Finn expectantly. She didn't know what his reaction would be; the song was an angry break-up song. Finn stood up and walked over to Quinn. He took her hand and pulled her to her feet. Then he pulled her into a deep kiss and Quinn felt like she was floating on air.

Quinn explained to Finn how her dad was now funding the school and that's why she had a key. Finn loved being in the school and not having to follow rules. Quinn thought it was hilarious and adorable how he ran through the halls, screaming at the top of his lungs. She ran to catch up to him and he caught her in his arms, spinning her around in a giant bear hug. She felt like she was living her dreams.

Meanwhile, Rachel felt like she was living in a nightmare since Puck had run away, leaving her naked and confused, crying into her pillow. She had wanted to talk to Finn, because even if she couldn't talk about what was upsetting her, Finn always knew how to cheer her up. But for some reason he had been in a rush to get off the phone. Rachel put on her comfiest pajamas and then spent over an hour looking at her phone, hoping he'd call her back, before she finally drifted off to sleep. She dreamt of the time when Puck told her he had slept with someone else.

_-8 years ago-_

Rachel had called Puck the day after she returned from New York. She had spent the previous night sleeping in Finn's arms and hoping things would be different between them. When she woke up and they weren't, she went back to her dad's house and called Puck.

He had answered on the second ring, recognizing her cell phone number. When he first answered the phone he sounded very confused and very distressed. She asked if it was a bad time, if perhaps she should call back later, but he assured her that he wanted nothing more than to talk to her.

"I got home late last night, it was kind of a last minute decision and when you left you said you never wanted to hear from me again," Rachel explained when Puck asked about her return home. "I kind of hoped that since I was home again that might change, but if you say no I understand."

"Babe I've missed you so much. I was such an idiot, leaving you. Your dreams are more important than me or my dreams, I'm so sorry I ever made you think otherwise," Puck admitted. He was crying. Puck decided it was probably a bad idea to tell her that he was in a motel room with Quinn, so instead he asked if he could meet her for breakfast.

Much to Puck's surprise, Rachel asked him to come over to her dad's. She said they had a lot of talking to do and she wanted to cook him breakfast. He agreed, telling her he remembered exactly how to get there. He scribbled an explanation on a note for Quinn and left.

Rachel cooked pancakes, waffles, bacon, and sausage. She was happy to have a distraction from her worrying. She didn't know what she would say to Puck or if they'd get back together. She did know that she wished she was still in Finn's arms, but she also knew that wasn't an option. By the time Puck got there, she was a nervous wreck.

When Rachel answered the door, Puck nearly suffocated her in his hug. Without saying a word, they both walked to the kitchen and sat down to eat. Neither of them knew where to start, it'd been 6 months since they'd talked and yet it felt like they'd never left each other's side. Finally, Puck spoke.

"Baby please take me back. I was so stupid and I've made so many mistakes in my life. You're the one thing I got right and I can't stand the thought of losing you again," Puck said. Rachel smiled and kissed him in response. They ate in silence, smiling at each other, for a little while longer.

Eventually Rachel's curiosity got the best of her and she started asking questions. She asked where he'd been living, if he'd been hanging out with Finn much. She asked how his mom was doing and if he had a job. They both knew she wasn't asking the question she most wanted the answer to so Puck gave up and told her.

"I was with someone else while you were in New York. But it was a mistake and I didn't love her. I've loved you since the day I met you and I'm sorry. It's over with the other girl, has been for a while," Puck lied.

"Who?" Rachel asked. She didn't really want to know, but she had to ask. It hurt to know he'd been with someone else; she had tried to date a little in New York but ended up crawling out of bathroom windows in the middle of dates.

"You don't know her. I regret it and I really hope we can forget about it and move on," Puck lied again. "I've been saving up to by myself an apartment, maybe we can get one together?"

It took Rachel a while to answer. She could tell Puck was expecting her to say yes immediately and that he was hurt she had to think about it. After another twenty minutes of silence she nodded yes and kissed him. He left a short while later.

As soon as Puck was out the door, Rachel called Finn. She told him that she had just talked to Puck and she needed him to come over. He asked why but she wouldn't tell him anything over the phone. When she let him into her house ten minutes later, she burst into tears.

"What happened?" Finn asked her. He led them both to her bedroom and sat on the bed with her. She was crying so hard she started to shake. Finn pulled her into his arms and held her until the shaking stopped.

"He was with someone else. While I was alone and depressed in New York he was fucking some other girl! And I can't even be angry because we weren't in a relationship at the time! We weren't even on speaking terms!" Rachel screamed into Finn's chest.

"You can still be mad if you want to be," Finn said sheepishly. Rachel looked up at him, eyes sparkling just a little bit. "This may sound kind of dumb, but, uh, do you want to sing about it? That's how we used to deal with everything."

Rachel nodded and Finn stood up. Rachel looked at him questioningly and he told her he was getting his guitar from his car. He returned a few minutes later and sat down at the end of Rachel's bed. They didn't need to say anything, Finn just started strumming and Rachel started singing. _You're Not Sorry._

**-x-**

Finn and Quinn were making out in the hallway outside of the choir room when Finn's phone started to ring. Finn apologized and said he needed to check in case it was his mom. Burt's heart had been acting up again and he needed to be available in an emergency. When Finn saw Rachel's name on the screen he answered immediately.

"Rach? Is everything okay?" Finn asked. He felt guilty for leaving her crying on the phone earlier.

"I-Finny…I need you. Noah is…can you…." Rachel was sobbing so hard she couldn't finish any of her sentences. The guilt was tearing at Finn's heart so badly he didn't even notice the glare Quinn was giving him.

"Rach, I'll be over there as soon as I can, okay? But uh, I'm with Quinn so she might come along," Finn said, finally looking at Quinn. Quinn saw how upset Rachel's cries were making Finn and resentfully nodded yes.

"I don't care just please come." Rachel said and then let out a loud wail before hanging up the phone.

"Quinn, I'm so sorry but she's my best friend and she's having issues with Puck," Finn explained. Quinn's annoyed look suddenly evaporated.

"It's fine, I understand. I saw my parents fight a lot before they got divorced; I know how hard it can be. We'll go over there." Quinn said. Finn smiled and kissed her before running towards the door. Quinn let out a sigh, excited for the upcoming confrontation.

Finn and Quinn drove to the Puckerman house in silence. Both of them were thinking about what they would say when they arrived. Finn was wondering if Puck was still locked in the bathroom. Upon arriving, Finn discovered that he was.

"Th-thanks f-for coming," Rachel whimpered quietly. She had stopped crying but she had a violent case of the hiccups. "Q-Quinn could-could you t-try to t-talk to N-Noah?"

"Of course. Is he in the bathroom?" Quinn tried to keep the smile of her face. Rachel nodded and then turned to Finn.

Finn watched as Quinn knocked on the door and told Puck who it was. When the door unlocked and Quinn walked in, locking it behind her, Finn finally turned to look at Rachel. He pulled her into his arms immediately, his heart breaking at the ragged breaths she was taking. She had cried herself sick; Finn could smell vomit in the trash can across the room.

After half an hour Quinn immerged from the bathroom. She sat on the end of Rachel's bed and informed them that Puck wanted her to tell Rachel something. Much to Rachel's disappointment, Finn left to get her a glass of water.

"Puck- Sorry, Noah, wanted me to tell you where he was last night. He said that he was too ashamed to tell you himself," Quinn said, nonchalantly. Rachel assumed that was because she barely knew either of them, she was very _very_ wrong. They were both silent while Quinn thought of how to tell Rachel everything.

"He was sleeping with me in a motel room, as he has once a week for the past 8 years. We first got together while you were in New York. He tried to end it with me when you got back but I wouldn't let him. Last night he told me he was in love with me, which is why he couldn't go through with having sex with you today," Quinn finally admitted.

Finn had returned just in time to hear the end of Quinn's explanation and he dropped the glass of water he was holding. Both girls turned at the sound of breaking glass. Finn stammered out an apology and ran outside. Quinn mumbled something under her breath and chased after him, leaving Rachel alone in her bed. She didn't cry, she had done enough of that already. She attributed the feeling of relief that came over her to the fact that she finally knew what was happening. There couldn't be another reason, why would she be happy that her husband had cheated on her?


	4. Better for You

**A/N:** Okay, so I felt the need to mention that my characters are based off season 1 versions of Rachel & Puck, season 2 version of Quinn, and season 3 version of Finn. Those are my favorite seasons of each character so that's what I'm sticking to in my fic. Reviews would be lovely! Also, now that I like my characters again, I'll probably update more frequently.  
>Song: Better For You (JLS) youtube[dot]comwatch?v=12-tEHiNa8g

_**!**_

"Finn! Wait!" Quinn screamed after him as he started walking down the block. He turned around and met eyes with her, but continued to walk away.

As Finn rounded the corner he saw Rachel's face in his mind and started to run. The look of utter despair that clouded her face when Quinn told her about Puck was indescribable. The more Finn thought about it the angrier he got; angry at Quinn but mostly angry at Puck. The angrier he got the faster he ran. He guessed he was about four miles away when Quinn caught up to him, in her car.

"Finn, please let me explain," Quinn called out the window.

"Explain what? I get it Quinn, I was a cover so Rachel wouldn't know about you and Puck. Whatever," Finn said. He hadn't realized how much the situation actually hurt him until then. He had lost Rachel to Puck years ago, but he thought he had had a chance with Quinn. He hated that his best friend topped him at everything.

"It's not like that Finn! Just…stop running. Please get in and talk to me," Quinn begged, slowing her car to match his pace. Feeling completely defeated and short of breath, he agreed and Quinn stopped her car. Finn silently cursed himself for not completing his Physical Therapy after his knee surgery; if he had, maybe he wouldn't be so out of shape.

"How is it not like that Quinn? Puck introduced us, even though you've been fucking him for 8 years. Clearly, you haven't actually been interested in me since high school," Finn shouted, but he got in her car anyways.

"I have been! I've wanted to date you since sophomore year, but I've loved Puck since I met him freshman year. Why do you think I've always hated Rachel so much? She had both the guys I liked wrapped around her finger," Quinn muttered. Finn gave her a doubtful look, so she explained further. "I told him I didn't want to be tied to a guy who could never be with me, so he set me up with you. He figured even if I was exclusive with you, I'd be willing to sleep with him."

"Was that supposed to make me feel better? Because it didn't. Rachel needs me, turn around," Finn said. Quinn remained in park and Finn began to reach for the door.

"He was wrong, you know. I tried to break it off with him last night, I told him I wanted to commit to you. That's why he told me he loved me, I don't think it's true," Quinn said quietly. Finn didn't say anything back. Realizing Finn was only thinking of one person, Quinn started the car and turned around. "I'll take you back to Rachel's."

Finn thanked her and then stayed silent for the rest of the ride back to Rachel's. Quinn kept looking over at him but he pretended not to notice. A block away from the Puckerman household, he finally broke down and told Quinn he wasn't mad at her but he didn't think they should date. She agreed and told him she hated to admit it but she loved Puck and was using him as a distraction. They both knew she was simply his distraction from Rachel so it didn't bother either of them.

When they got back to the Puckerman house, Quinn called Puck and told him to come outside, and Finn headed up to the bedroom. The boys passed each other on the stairs and avoided making eye contact. After Finn heard the front door close, he let himself into the bedroom, which Puck had thankfully left unlocked. Rachel was curled up in the bed, sound asleep. He remembered freshman year, when Rachel had slept over for a week.

_-13 years earlier-_

Finn could barely contain his excitement. He had known Rachel for a month, but Kurt had known her since the first week of high school. Her dads were going on a second honeymoon for their 25th anniversary so Rachel was staying at the Hummel-Hudson household for the week. It was spring break so Finn would get to spend a lot of time with her.

"Finn, what happened to being in love with Quinn? You're practically peeing yourself in excitement for Rachel's arrival," Kurt said, shooting him a judgmental look. "She's my only friend at McKinley and I swear to Gucci, if you ruin it, I'm disowning you."

"Shut up man. I told you I don't like Quinn. And Rachel…she told you about our kiss right?" Finn asked, eyeing the door.

"She told me how you ran away after it. I had to assure her it wasn't anything she did wrong, but don't worry, I didn't tell her about your little…problem." Kurt snickered and Finn hit him with one of the pillows off their couch. Just as Kurt began to whine about his outfit being wrinkled the doorbell rang. Finn sprang up but Kurt stopped him. "Woah there, she's here because she's my friend. Sit back down…you look like a freaking puppy dog."

Finn tried to send Kurt a death stare but it was ineffective since he was walking the other way towards the door. When Rachel walked in, wearing a flowey white dress, Finn was sure his heart had stopped. She greeted him but he just kept staring, mouth hitting the floor. Kurt threw a shoe at him, laughing when it hit him in the head and he didn't even wince. Rachel stared, questioningly, and Kurt dragged her towards his room, chatting animatedly.

"I couldn't be stupider if I tried. She probably thinks I'm slow," Finn mumbled to himself. Kurt's room used to be the only room in the basement, but when Finn and his mom moved in they built a wall so Finn's room was located right next to Kurt's, joined by a wall and a door in the middle of the oversized room. He walked down, pretending he wasn't checking Rachel out as he went to his room.

"Kurt, is Finn's room on the other side of that wall?" Rachel whispered to Kurt. Kurt laughed and nodded his head.

"And the walls are pretty thin!" Finn shouted through the wall. Rachel blushed and giggled, Finn followed the sound and joined Kurt and Rachel on Kurt's bed.

"So we have a week together Rach, and I can tell Finn will be following us like a lost puppy dog. What would you like to do?" Kurt asked, glaring at Finn. He loved his step-brother but he had been looking forward to his girl time with Rachel.

"Oh I don't know, um maybe we could, um, watch a movie tonight or something," Rachel stammered, gawking at Finn the whole time. Kurt rolled his eyes and hopped off the bed to retrieve _The Sound of Music_ on DVD. When he returned, Finn and Rachel had somehow ended up practically on top of each other. Kurt decided to let them be, and he sat on Rachel's other side after starting the movie.

They watched 4 different movies that night, Kurt kept refilling soda glasses and popcorn bowls since Finn and Rachel couldn't be bothered to stop staring at each other long enough. Finally at 1am, Kurt sent Finn back to his room, telling them both they'd get to stare at each other plenty during the next week.

"Kurt, you look jealous," Rachel said. Finn pressed his ear to the wall, straining to hear their conversation.

"Well duh, my best friend is too busy gawking at my step-brother to gossip with me!" Kurt hollered. Finn felt a little guilty, until he heard Rachel's voice again and forgot everything else.

"Well I'm not now. Did you know a new guy's coming to our school after break?" Rachel chattered excitedly. "Yep, and he's openly gay."

Finn heard Kurt squeal a little and climbed into bed, listening to Rachel's voice talk excitedly about a guy named Blaine. Her voice soothed him to sleep and he thought he might go a night without nightmares for once. Maybe falling asleep to her voice would stop his dad's voice from haunting him all night. No such luck, he woke up screaming at around 3:30am. He got up and got a glass of water from the bathroom, and when he returned Rachel was standing awkwardly at the door joining his and Kurt's rooms.

"Rachel?" Finn asked. He was sure he was dreaming, because Rachel looked heavenly in her white lace nightgown. She nodded and took a timid step towards him. "Wha-what are you doing in my room? Is everything okay?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing. You were screaming, and like you said, the walls are pretty thin. It woke Kurt and me up and he said you had a lot of nightmares," Rachel explained. Finn simply looked at her in utter disbelief. "I just thought maybe I could sing you back to sleep? Kurt said he does that sometimes so maybe I should just send him in here, sorry I- I'm sorry, I'll go."

Rachel began to walk back towards the door and Finn ran over and grabbed her wrist, stopping her in her tracks. She turned around and they met eyes, and for the first time since his father died Finn felt completely happy. He bent down and kissed her on the cheek. Without any other words they both walked to Finn's bed, where Rachel curled up into Finn's arms and began to sing the only song she currently knew,_ Better for You_ by JLS. 

_I'm much better for you, I'm much better for you  
>Much better for you,<br>I don't wanna see you heading for a heart-break  
>I can't turn away<br>You're the one I wanna save  
>'Cause I'm better for you<em>

_What will it take  
>Why can't we be<br>If you're gonna gamble,  
>Bet it on me<br>How does it sound  
>I won't let you down<br>'Cause you know you got me, got me, try me  
><em>

When Rachel finished singing, Finn pretended he was asleep. She smiled and curled herself tighter into his arms and they both knew this was going to be a regular occurrence for the next week. Finn stayed up for the next hour watching the way Rachel's chest rose and fell as she slept and how her eyes raced back and forth behind her eyelids as she dreamt.

The rest of the week followed a schedule. Every night around 3:30am Finn would wake up screaming and Kurt would kick Rachel until she walked into Finn's room. She wouldn't say a thing as she crawled into his bed, waking him from his nightmare. She waited until his arms settled around her and then she sang _Better for You_ until he fell asleep. In the morning, they would wake up, entangled in each other's arms, to the scent of home cooked pancakes courtesy of Kurt. Rachel would spend the day with Kurt, shopping, gossiping, and stalking this Blaine kid online. At dinner, Kurt would come up with a logical excuse to leave them for an hour or two and Finn and Rachel got to know each other over cheap Chinese food and leftover pizza. Then, the three of them would gather in Kurt's bed and watch movies until about 1am, when Finn would go to his bed and try to sleep alone, failing miserably and the cycle would start again.

As Kurt and Finn waved goodbye to Rachel the following Sunday, Finn felt a familiar pang in his chest. Kurt gave Finn a sympathetic hug, knowing the nightmares would only get worse until Friday, when Rachel promised she would come sleepover again. None of them expected those plans to be killed by Puck asking Rachel on a date that Friday.

_**-x-**_

Finn crawled into bed, cradling Rachel in his arms. After a few minutes time she woke up and turned to face him. She blinked her eyes awake and started crying. Finn rubbed her back and hummed _Better for You_ until she stopped.

"Hi Finny," she whispered. He stroked the tears off her cheek with his thumb and she closed her eyes and smiled. "That's what I sang to you when you had nightmares freshman year, right?" Rachel asked, remembering the tune.

"Uh, yeah…It was the only song you knew all the words to back then," Finn chuckled. "You know, I never actually fell asleep when you sang to me. I faked it."

"I know. On the last night I was there I saw you smiling and you were humming along," Rachel said, her voice too serious to go with the memory. "I wish you hadn't introduced me to Noah that Wednesday…"

The admission caught Finn off guard and he searched Rachel's eyes, trying to see if she was telling the truth. After the week at his house, Rachel and Finn had been inseparable, so of course she had to meet Finn's best friend. He introduced them during lunch on Wednesday, and everything had gone downhill since then.

"I liked you a lot back then Finny, and for years I told Kurt it was just because of bad Chinese food getting to my head but he and I both knew that wasn't true," Rachel looked away as she admitted everything to Finn. "When I told you and Kurt I couldn't spend the night that Friday because Puck asked me out I kept hoping one of you would tell me not to go on the date, to spend the night instead. When you didn't, I figured you didn't care."

"Quinn-She told me that you were…that senior year you wanted to dump Puck for me," Finn stammered awkwardly. He forced Rachel to make eye contact with him, because he'd never have the courage to say everything if he couldn't look into her eyes.

"Did she tell you how I slapped her?" Rachel finally laughed. "God, I wish I had done that today. She's a whore Finn, and I hope you're not planning on dating her anymore."

"No, we both decided we shouldn't be together. Both of us wanted to be with someone else, we had been looking for a distraction in each other…but that doesn't matter anymore." Finn hoped Rachel understood what he meant by that. She smiled and nodded, closing her eyes and resting her head on his chest. Finn began to sing_ Better for You_, the words she had taught him all those years ago. 

_You know that every time you build it up, he tears it down  
>Don't you think you've had enough already now<br>Cause you're priceless, I'd show you, If you'd let me  
>Can't you see I'm...<em>

_There's so much inside you just don't see  
>I'll show you, I'll show you how good you are<br>I can take you where you need to be, with me_

Rachel turned away from Finn so he wouldn't see her crying, even though he could feel her shaking the whole time. She fell apart in his arms until she fell asleep again. Confused and broken, she dreamt of her first date with Puck.

_-13 years earlier-  
><em>  
>"So guys, Noah Puckerman asked me on a date tomorrow night," Rachel said hesitantly as she, Kurt, and Finn stood at their adjacent lockers. "I don't know if I'll be able to make that sleepover."<p>

"Oh my God who cares about the sleepover? You have a date! Oh and um I have one too, with Blaine, so it would have just been you and Finn anyways," Kurt squealed. Rachel noticed how Finn's face had fallen to the sulky face he had when he first woke up from a nightmare. She felt a twang of guilt in her chest, but he wasn't saying anything.

"Finny, is that okay with you? I can tell Noah no if you want me to," Rachel said with quite a bit of hope in her voice. Finn either didn't notice or didn't care because he shrugged and then sulked off in the other direction.

"Don't worry about him, you have a date! What are you going to wear? For my date I figured I'd wear my white jeans and that grey shirt I bought with you last week. Where are you and Puck going? Blaine and I are going to the community college's production of _Wicked_; it's his favorite show too!" Kurt asked endless questions and revealed endless details as they walked to their shared math class. Rachel answered appropriately to each question, her mind never forgetting Finn's face.

The rest of the school day went on in a blur, as did Friday. Right before 5th period on Friday, Rachel was at her locker and someone came up and grabbed her from behind. Expecting it to be Finn for some reason, she turned around excitedly, only to see Noah Puckerman's face where she had expected Finn's. He told her that he couldn't wait for their date, and that she was going to love it. He hadn't told her what they were doing, but he told her not to dress up. He said they might get kind of dirty so she should wear clothes that could get ruined. She wasn't very excited.

When Rachel got home she went to her room to change. Her dad's kept asking her questions about her plans and she kept telling them she didn't know, it was a surprise date with Noah. When they heard her plans were with a guy named Noah instead of Finn they looked confused, but went downstairs to drink tea instead of bothering Rachel anymore. She threw on her favorite lazy day jeans and a tee shirt from her trip to New York. Then she threw Finn's football hoodie over it and went down stairs to wait for Puck. She had taken the hoodie from Finn last Sunday, and he seemed to have noticed, but hadn't asked for it back.

At 6:28pm, Puck finally arrived at her house. He had said he'd pick her up at 5:45pm. To say she was upset would be an understatement. When he pulled into her driveway and sent her a text saying he was there instead of coming to the door, Leroy and Hiram scowled and mumbled something about Finn having better manners. She kissed them both and ran outside, grateful he hadn't come to the door. She didn't really want to explain the mohawk to her dads quite yet.

"Sorry I'm late," Puck said lamely when she got in the passenger side of the car. "I was dealing with some drama at home."

Rachel looked at him and noticed he was sporting a black eye that he hadn't had earlier in the day. She decided not to ask any questions, and remained silent all the way to their destination. It turned out he was taking her to the new outdoor laser tag arena, and when they pulled in the parking lot her face lit up like a child's. She had wanted to come to this place since she heard about it, but Kurt wouldn't be caught dead somewhere like this and she hadn't had the chance to ask Finn yet. Puck smiled when he saw her practically bouncing up and down in her seat while he looked for a parking spot.

"Alright Berry, were gonna do teams. I don't know if you could handle this on your own," Puck winked as he paid for their game.

"Yeah right Puckerman. I'm playing solo, but I wish you the best of luck," Rachel flirted, running off towards the guns. She picked one with the nickname Gold Star and entered the arena without giving Puck a second glance.

They didn't see each other again until halfway through the game, when he snuck up behind her. Instead of shooting her, he grabbed her in his arms and kissed her. Much to her surprise, she kissed him back. When they pulled apart and Puck smiled at her, she decided not to admit she had been thinking about Finn the whole time. Instead, she shot his shield and ran away giggling. From that point on, Puck had been smitten with her. And with Finn being shy and somewhat aloof, she had chosen the boy that showered her with affection, regretting it the whole time.

_**-x-**_

When Rachel woke up two hours later, Finn had fallen asleep. His face was scrunched up the way it was when he had nightmares. He didn't scream anymore, but Carole had told Rachel that Finn still woke up in the middle of the night and called Carole on occasion, so the nightmares clearly weren't gone. What Carole didn't tell Rachel was that the nightmares were no longer Finn's father's voice haunting him; rather they were Rachel's voice telling him she loved Puck. It took a lot more for Carole to calm him down from those than from the nightmares about his father.

Rachel gently untangled herself from Finn's arms and tip toed out of the room. She walked downstairs and into her kitchen, where she saw a note from Puck on the counter. 

_Rach,  
>This isn't easy for me to explain. I'm sorry you had to find out this way, but I think I love Quinn more than I ever loved you. This is where I should say I feel guilty about everything, but the truth is, I don't. I'm spending the night at Quinn's, and I wish I could tell you I'd move out but the house is mine. Take as much time as you need to find somewhere else, just have Finn let me know when you're moved out. A break will do us good; we'll see how we feel about each other when all the anger is gone.<br>Love,  
>Puck Noah.<em>

Rachel couldn't help the tears that began to stream down her cheeks. She understood what Puck meant, she loved Finn more than she had ever loved Puck, but Puck and she had been married for four years and she really couldn't imagine her life without him. She hadn't realized she had collapsed on the floor until Finn was picking her up and carrying her to the couch. He laid her down gently and then got a glass of water from the kitchen.

"You can move in with me Rach, we can pack everything tomorrow. For now, do you want to watch _The Sound of Music_ or _Wicked_ or something?" Finn asked quietly. He was having trouble containing the anger he felt towards Puck right then.

"N-no I-I w-want to p-pack n-now," Rachel hiccupped. She was a mess and Finn knew she didn't even own a suitcase. He nodded and kissed her forehead, telling her he was going to get the suitcases from his house and that he'd be back in 20 minutes. She wouldn't let him go.

"Rach, you don't have anything to carry your stuff in. I need to get my suitcases so we don't ruin any of your pretty clothes," Finn said softly. Finally she nodded, asking him to hurry.

On his way back to her house from his, he stopped at the flower shop and bought six white and six red roses. When he walked in the front door with them, she smiled, making her cry even more. He handed the flowers to her and she pulled him into a huge hug, whispering "thank you" into his chest over and over again.

They spent the rest of the night walking around the house, packing all of Rachel's stuff. It took them until well after 4am. They filled all his suitcases with her clothes, and had boxes for the rest of the stuff. Rachel took only what was hers, leaving most of their things for Puck. She did take the blender they had gotten as a wedding gift, along with all the liquor in the house. She wasn't going to give Puck the satisfaction of getting drunk when he came home to her being gone. The found all the pictures of Puck and Rachel together, and if the two of them were far enough apart they cut Rachel out and replaced the picture of Puck alone in the frame, Finn saving Rachel's half in one of the boxes. If they were too close together, they burned the picture outside on her porch.

"Rach, what about this wedding picture?" Finn asked, around 4:30am. Rachel took the frame from his hand, grabbed the lighter off the mantel and walked outside. Finn watched as she threw the frame onto the ground so it broke, removed the picture and lit it on fire. She waited until Puck's face was burnt and then stomped the fire out, leaving her own face intact.

"There, that can be his one memory of me," Rachel said triumphantly as she walked back in and taped the half destroyed picture to the fridge. "He probably thinks that when he realizes Quinn isn't as perfect as me, I'll take him back. He's wrong. I don't want to talk to him, ever again."

"You know, if I wasn't looking in your eyes right now, I might believe you, but I can see the tears forming," Finn said sadly. He loved that she seemed so confident, but he knew deep down she was still falling apart. "Let's get some sleep, we can take all this stuff to my place in the morning."

"Why not now?" Rachel asked, downing a beer. She had already drunk four since they started packing. Finn just gave her a look and she sighed, letting him carry her to her bed.

That night Rachel woke up around 6:30am, sobbing hysterically. Finn pulled her closer to him and sung _Better for You_ until she fell back asleep. They slept until 1pm, and then as he had promised, they moved all of Rachel's stuff to his house. She moved into his guest room, but they both knew he'd be singing her to sleep for a while.

**A/N:** PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE review!


	5. F  k You

**A/N:** So I don't remember if there's a rule on number of or type of swear words that are acceptable in a T rating, and I'm too lazy to go check. Therefore, instead of using the F word I typed "f**k." Yeah, I know, super cool right?  
>Song: F**k You (Cee-Lo Green) youtube[dot]comwatch?v=rNV_N4Yn7iE

_**!**_

"Finny! There is not enough closet space in here!" Rachel shouted from the guest bedroom. She had begun unpacking all her stuff as soon as they carried the last box inside. For a while he had helped her, but around the fourth over-stuffed dress bag his head was spinning with white dresses and pink flowers, so he went to cook them dinner.

"How did I know you were going to say that?" Finn asked, appearing in the doorway. He was wearing his Kiss the Cook apron, the only apron he owned because nothing else was manly enough. When he first stopped playing football, he spent too much time sitting on the couch and eating fast food. Once his physical therapist commented on his weight gain, he decided to change things around. He took up cooking as a hobby, and the health benefits were instant.

"Probably because you watched me pack my entire wardrobe, which took up an entire walk in closet. What are you cooking?" Rachel asked, awkwardly avoiding reading his apron. She knew he wasn't wearing it to imply anything, but the fact that she really did want to kiss him made it seem that way. She and Puck had just separated; she knew it was way too soon for her to get involved with Finn, if he was even interested. She used to think he was into her, but since his dates with Quinn, she wasn't so sure.

"I haven't been grocery shopping in like, a month, so we're just having spaghetti. I promise I'll cook more gourmet meals after I go to the store," Finn joked. He knew Rachel wouldn't care what he cooked, she was just grateful for a place to stay and warm food. At her and Puck's house, gourmet meant pizza with extra cheese.

Rachel smiled at him and then pointed to the other two garment bags on her bed, wondering what to do with them. Finn walked over and picked them up, carrying them to his own bedroom that had a much larger and much emptier closet. After he helped Rachel put away the rest of her stuff, they went and sat down for dinner in the dining room. As Finn served Rachel, he could tell she wasn't used to meals being eaten at a table instead of in front of the TV. She fidgeted endlessly and didn't know where to put her hands. Eventually she just sat on the hand she didn't need to eat with.

While Finn and Rachel were adjusting to living together, so were Quinn and Puck. Until he was sure he could move back into his own house, he was living in Quinn's with her. Puck didn't think he'd have to be at Quinn's for more than one night, but Finn hadn't called him yet so he assumed Rachel was still moving out. Quinn's place was nice, but he didn't like how uptight it felt. Quinn was the definition of manners; dinner was ready at 6:30pm exactly, and Puck actually had to eat with a napkin on his lap. He loved cuddling with Quinn, not to mention screwing her, every night but the formality of the house was driving him crazy.

Quinn didn't like having him there either. She loved him, whether she wanted to admit that to him yet or not, but he ruined the entire atmosphere of her house. She had been raised to be very formal and very polite; she took an etiquette class every year through middle school and high school. Puck's opposition to wearing a napkin on his lap was upsetting her a lot more than she let off. She used to dream of Rachel and Puck breaking up and her and Puck getting together. In her dreams, everything worked out perfectly. Ever since her first night with Puck, she had fallen asleep dreaming of a blue house and white picket fence.

_-8 years earlier-_

When Quinn had first seen Puck enter the club, she had been shocked. She had liked him throughout High School. He and Finn had been the leaders of the football team, and as head cheerleader she had a crush on both of them. There was something about Noah Puckerman that made him a tad more appealing though; maybe because she couldn't have him. It wasn't until sophomore year that she had tried making a move on him, but by then he was dating Rachel Berry. She had decided to go for Finn after that, but her heart had never strayed from Puck.

As the song F**K You by Cee-Lo Green began playing through the speakers, Quinn watched Puck survey the room. He seemed to be scanning the girls in the room. That's when Quinn remembered that Puck had moved to New York with Rachel. So why was he back? And where was Rachel? Quinn turned her attention back to her dad.

"Congrats Quinny-Poo! You're club is a raging success! Cheers!" Mr. Fabray said to her. He was well into his 60's but looked much older. "Who would of thought the persona you tried to ditch would be the name of your future club?"

Knowing Puck was watching, Quinn burst out laughing; people always said she was prettiest when she was laughing. It worked; Puck walked up to the table and then he didn't say a thing. Mr. Fabray looked awkwardly between the two of them and then left. Puck took his seat.

"Wow Puckerman, just as intelligent as always," Quinn said. Puck looked at her, as if trying to remember where he had met her before. Finally he spoke.

"Quinn? You're even more beautiful than in high school, and I didn't think that was possible." Puck said, in the most seductive voice Quinn had ever heard. 

"Flattery? Are you trying to get yourself a free drink?" Quinn joked. "Because I do own the place, and I can do that."

"I wouldn't want to deny you anything, so sure," Puck winked. Quinn ordered him a drink called a Blue Whale, which she knew was the bartender's favorite to make.

"What ever happen to Berry? You break her heart again?" Quinn asked upon returning.

"Other way around. I loved her, she loved Broadway. But the real problem was, Broadway didn't love her. She's in New York, screwing and doing God knows what." Puck said bitterly as he tried a sip of the drink.

"You sound bitter. Puck, you're at a night club, talking to the owner, and drinking a free drink. Cheer up, or get out!" Quinn's laughed. Puck offered her a weak smile. She kept trying to engage him in conversation, and after a few more drinks and some shots, he was finally loosening up.

They went to the photo booth she insisted having in the corner of the club, and on the last frame Puck kissed her. She didn't hesitate to kiss him back. Her favorite song came on and she dragged him to the dance floor. A few songs later, F**k You came back on.

"Didn't we just hear this song?" Quinn scoffed. She had paid a lot of money for their DJ, what the hell was he doing? "I'm going to have to talk to the DJ later."

"Later. Right now, you're mine," Puck's smile reached all the way up to his eyes. Quinn was certain she'd never seen him smile like that around Rachel, so she stayed on the dance floor for another few hours.

"Quinn, I'm headed home. I'm guessing you don't want your father to know you're still here?" The bartender asked around 3a.m. Quinn nodded and the bartender continued, "Champagne's on the counter; won't stay chilled for long. Don't wreck the place, and be safe."

"Good man! Love yah!" Quinn slurred her words and the bartender rolled his eyes. Puck kept his arms

locked tight around Quinn; she forced herself to believe that was by choice and not because he'd fall over if he left go.

Soon enough they changed from standing and swaying to the music, to lying down and giggling uncontrollably. They had finished the bottle of Champagne, and had lost their clothes somewhere along the way.

By the end of the night, Quinn was trying to convince herself that Puck had just been night of fun and that she didn't have any feelings for him whatsoever. She knew it wasn't true though. As she curled up in his arms and feigned sleep, she thought about what it would be like to be Quinn Puckerman. She dreamt of a blue house with a white picket fence, with a red mailbox full of mail addressed to Mr. & Mrs. Puckerman-Fabray.

**-x-**

Quinn woke up from her familiar dream surprisingly cold. She noticed Puck's arms weren't surrounding her like they had been for the past few mornings. She sat up and looked around, finally spotting Puck in the bathroom brushing his teeth. He was wearing his work uniform. How had Quinn forgotten he owned the local car shop?

"Morning babe. I work until 5, and Finn said he was coming to see me at work today, which probably means I'll be able to move back into my house tonight or tomorrow," Puck mumbled with his toothbrush in his mouth.

"Oh, okay." Quinn did nothing to hide the disappointment on her face. She hated Puck living with her, but she hated being away from him even more. Puck spotted her face in the mirror, finished brushing his teeth and walked over to her.

"Unless you want me to stay here?" Puck asked. He kissed her before she could say anything. "I'm running late, we'll talk about it after work. I love you."

"I love you too," Quinn admitted. Puck looked at her in utter disbelief, this was the first time she had said she loved him. She pulled him into a deeper kiss and he groaned before pulling away. She laughed as he reluctantly left for work.

While Puck was headed to his job, Rachel and Finn were trying to figure out their career plans. Rachel had never needed more than Puck's job had provided and Finn had been coaching football for various rich kids. Finn's mom had been sending him a small check every month since, with her and Burt's combined income, she had plenty of money. However, they both decided they wanted more of an annual income, so they were searching the want ads together.

"Oooh! How about this! 'Singer wanted. Four nights a week, no experience needed. Auditions in person only. Night club: Lucy Goosey'" Rachel read from her laptop screen. She knew it was unlikely, but she really wanted a job that involved performing. Finn looked up from the newspaper in front of him and smiled.

"Sounds perfect for you Rach. And I was kinda thinkin' I could work at Puck's garage. I mean, I wouldn't have to work there when he works, and it wouldn't be permanently, just until something else came along. But Puck's still my friend, kind of…and he asked me," Finn stammered out quickly. He wasn't sure how Rachel would take the news.

"I don't see why not. I mean, as long as you don't talk about work when you're home and you don't talk about home when you're at work, but most businesses have something about that in their worker's contract. You and Noah were friends long before you met me, I would never make you chose between us," Rachel said, refusing to make eye contact with Finn.

"Rach, look me in the eyes and tell me you're okay with it. Otherwise, I'll keep looking for something else," Finn said. He knew Rachel would never make him chose, but if it came to that he'd chose her over Puck any day.

"I'm fine with it," Rachel said, staring Finn in the eyes. She was, really…she had to be.

"Alright, then you call Lucy Goosey and set up an audition and I'm going to Puck's garage. He asked me to pay a visit today, probably to find out the status on his house." Finn stood up and grabbed his jacket. He looked back at Rachel one more time before leaving; she was dialing the night clubs number into her cell phone.

Finn drove to Puck's garage in five minutes flat; the place was very close by. When he walked in to the office, Puck was on the phone with the tire shop. Puck held a finger to signal the call would be over soon so Finn took a seat in the oddly nice leather seats. Finn surveyed the office and noticed the frame on Puck's desk that used to hold Rachel and Puck's wedding photo now held a photo of Quinn and Puck from a few years ago. There were no other personal items in the office.

"So let me guess. Rachel's all moved out, and you want the job?" Puck asked, half jokingly. Things were awkward between the two of them, as anyone could expect, but they were both trying to act like everything was exactly the same.

"Yep. But I hope you know I refuse to call you my boss," Finn joked back. Puck didn't ask where Rachel had moved to so Finn didn't tell him. Puck smiled and slipped an application across the desk. Finn raised an eyebrow and Puck just shrugged. Applications were a requirement.

"Fill it out. I'll make you co-manager so I don't have to work as often," Puck said. Then he laughed, "not like I work much anyways, but this way there can always be a manager on the floor."

Finn filled out the application, silently cheering that Puck had basically just said they'd never work together. He knew Puck wouldn't ask, but Finn didn't want to accidentally mention something about Rachel and lose his new job. He wondered if Rachel got an audition.

"Lucy Goosey, how may I direct your call?" A ladies voice came through the other line. For some reason Rachel wasn't expecting a real human to answer the phone, so she was caught off guard. "Hello?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. Hi. I'm calling about the job listing online? I was hoping for an audition," Rachel choked out. The secretary on the other line seemed to be searching through papers.

"Oh yes, there's a spot at 8p.m. tonight. Does that work for you?" The lady paused and Rachel said that'd be great. "Okay can I get your name for the audition sheet?"

"Rachel Puc- Rachel Berry," Rachel corrected herself. The secretary wrote down her name and then told Rachel she'd see her at 8p.m. Rachel hung up the phone and squealed. Then she ran to her room to search through song books. This would be her first audition in almost 6 years.

When Finn got home he told Rachel he was co-Manager. She congratulated him and then told him about her audition. After a giant, and oddly long, hug he cooked them both dinner. Since he still hadn't been to the grocery, they ate spaghetti again. At 7:30p.m. Rachel left for her audition.

When Rachel got to the club she thought about her song choice. Although it was her favorite song, a Broadway musical selection didn't seem right for a night club. Maybe she should sing something else? She walked in the door and spotted the club owner, and she instantly knew what to sing.

"Hi, I'm Rachel Berry and I would love to be the singer her. I'm going to sing a very popular song by and artist named Cee-Lo Green; it's a song I really relate to right now. 

_I pity the fool  
>That falls in love with you<br>Well  
>Oooooooooh<br>I've got some news for you.  
>Yeah go run and tell your little boyfriend.<em>

_I see you driving 'round town with the girl I love  
>and I'm like,<br>'F**K YOU!'  
>Ooo, ooo, oooo<br>I guess the change in my pocket wasn't enough  
>I'm like,<br>'F**K YOU!  
>And f**k her too.'<br>_

Thanks, and again, I'm Rachel Berry. Hope to hear from you," Rachel said after she finished the song. She walked off the stage and out the door, only to hear a pair of heals following after her. She knew it was Quinn, and even though it could be the difference between singing four nights a week and searching for a new job, Rachel didn't stop.

"Rachel wait!" Quinn called after her. Rachel paused at the door of her car. "The job is yours if you'll talk to me right now."

Rachel hesitantly turned around. She had felt a rush on the stage that she hadn't felt since she left New York and she really wanted the job; but was it worth it when Quinn owned the club? Rachel walked over to where Quinn was standing and Quinn led them both to the bench outside the club. They sat down and let out a sigh at the same time.

"Jinx, you owe me a soda," Quinn laughed. "Rachel you were phenomenal on stage and that job is yours as long as you still want it. But if you're going to work for me, we probably need to talk some things out."

"What do I owe you now? Like four soda's?" Rachel joked. She took a deep breath knowing she was in for a long night. For a moment she let herself remember when her and Quinn were friends; when she first returned from New York and was desperate for a girl friend since she no longer had Kurt.

_-8 years ago-_

When Rachel finally rekindled her romance with Puck, they moved in together and Finn had started to pull away from her. She would always have Puck, but she missed having friends too. She missed having a girl pal, or Kurt, to gossip with. She missed having a guy friend who would help her analyze Puck's attitudes.

One night over a dinner of cold pizza and left over Chinese, she voiced her concerns to Puck. He told her he'd always listen to her complaints and she shot him a look, they both knew the only person she'd ever need to complain about was him. She saw a lot of emotions pass over Puck's face until he finally said what he was thinking.

"I made a lot of friends; just friends don't worry, when I moved back. I spent a lot of nights out at clubs and I don't know if you remember Quinn Fabray from high school, but she and I got kind of close. She was telling me last week how she wished she had a best girl friend, because all her friends are guys," Puck finally said. Rachel grinned.

"Of course I remember her! Aw Noah, can you call her? I would love to re-connect with her!" Rachel squealed enthusiastically. She clapped her hands together quietly as Puck pulled out his cell phone and called Quinn.

"Hey Fabray, it's Puck," Puck said into the phone. "Yeah I'm with Rachel, she just moved in with me the other night. Remember how you were saying you wanted some girl friends…yeah well Rachel just said the same thing…I was hoping the two of you could maybe hang out or something…really?...that's great! I'll tell her." 

"What'd she say?" Rachel was practically bouncing in her seat in anticipation. She had always been jealous of Quinn, and being friends with her was like a dream.

"She said she'd love to get ice cream with you tonight," Puck responded. He smiled at her, and Rachel tried not to overanalyze the anxious look on his face. She squealed and ran upstairs to change and Puck laughed, watching his girlfriend adoringly and wondering for the millionth time how he got so lucky.

Rachel met Quinn at the local soft serve place and at first things were really awkward. Rachel was overly excited to be making a new friend and Quinn seemed reluctant to be there. They waited in line silently and were called up to adjacent windows at the same time.

"Small vanilla cone please," they both said at the same time. Quinn turned to Rachel and burst out laughing before saying, "jinx! You owe me a soda!" at the top of her lungs. Rachel started laughing, in relief that Quinn was being just as goofy as Rachel was feeling.

They got their ice cream and sat in the nearby grass. Rachel told Quinn all about her time in New York and how it was great having Kurt as a friend until he started getting jobs left and right. Quinn told Rachel about taking over Fabray, Inc. and opening a night club. They both reminisced on high school and their fun times in Glee club.

"Remember that time Holly Holiday came in and sang F**k You without censoring it?" They both said at the same time. "Jinx, you owe me a soda!" They spoke at the same time again.

"Double jinx! That means two sodas," Quinn said matter of factly. Rachel laughed and while she was distracted, Quinn tipped Rachel's ice cream cone up to Rachel's nose, getting vanilla ice cream all over her face.

"I can't believe you did that!" Rachel squealed. She did the same thing to Quinn and soon they were both covered in ice cream and laughing. "I wish we had been friends in High School, I think we could have had a lot of fun."

"Yeah, me too," Quinn said honestly. They stayed outside the ice cream place until well after dark, and even though they both knew there was something off about their friendship, they were happy to have each other.

**-x-**

"I really wasn't trying to steal Puck from you, or anything like that. I mean, you can't help who you fall in love with, right? I mean…with Finn and all…and sometimes Fate has a funny way of putting us where we belong," Quinn said.

"I don't know what you mean-" Rachel began, but Quinn cut her off.

"Whether you see it yet or not, you love Finn. And I know you moved in with him, but don't worry; I won't tell Puck if he doesn't know yet. Look Rachel, I feel terrible about the way things happened but I don't regret a second of it and I know you don't either. You have the job whether you want to be friends or not, but I would love it if we could at least try at being friends," Quinn pleaded.

"Can I think about that?" Rachel asked. Quinn nodded, then handed Rachel a scrap paper with her cell phone number on it. Rachel promised to text her and Quinn said she'd call Rachel with a schedule after they found a band to back her up. They parted with an awkward hug and Rachel got in her car to go home while Quinn headed back in the club to see if her assistants had found any bands worth a call-back.

**A/N:** So I'm on spring break until Monday, which means I'll have time to write. Reviews are the only thing that will make me decided whether to work on this or on one of my other fics. If you want me to work on this, _please review!_


	6. Find Out Who Your Friends Are

**A/N:** Hard for me to believe this is only chapter 6, so much has happened! But stick with me, there's so much more to come! 15 chapters total guys! And in the next couple chapters you get glimpses into the other characters lives! This chapter features Kurt and Blaine, whose glamorous NY life isn't exactly what they've made it seem like.  
>Song: Find Out Who Your Friends Are by Tim McGraw (ft. Tracy Lawrence &amp; Kenny Chesney) youtube[dot]com watch?v=Dy-u1DtyRX8

_**!**_

When Rachel got home she told Finn all about her exchange with Quinn, though she left out the part where Quinn said Rachel was in love with Finn. Finn was in disbelief at Quinn's attitude, but he was thrilled Rachel had the job. He knew she missed being on a stage, he could see in in the way her eyes sparkled as she told him all about her performance.

Deciding they needed to celebrate, Finn took Rachel out for ice cream. They got to the dairy mat at 10pm, just as they were about to close up. Finn and Rachel got the last cones of the night, a small chocolate for Finn and a small vanilla for Rachel. They went and sat in the nearby grass.

"What're we gonna do Rach? We got jobs now, maybe we should figure our lives out," Finn said. His ice cream was beginning to melt in the hot summer night air. It was the middle of July and the nights were almost as warm as the afternoons.

"Well that doesn't sound like fun. Isn't this supposed to be a celebration of our new jobs? Celebrations are supposed to be happy," Rachel laughed. Finn looked at her, his face a lot more serious than she wanted it to be. She took the opportunity to smash her ice cream into her face.

"Oh no you didn't!" Finn screamed before shoving his own cone into her face.

A few minutes later they were both covered in melted ice cream and laughing. Rachel fell back into the grass, closing her eyes in the moonlight. Finn couldn't help himself, he looked at the beautiful girl lying beside him, ice cream making her face literally glow, and he did what he'd wanted to do for 13 years. He kissed her, and she kissed him back. But then she bolted upright, eyes bugging out of her head, and ran away.

Finn curled his knees to his chest and buried his face. He knew she was in the tree's a couple steps away and he also knew he shouldn't follow her. He heard her calling Kurt on her cell phone. The more he thought about it, the more he realized he didn't regret kissing her at all, even if it messed up their friendship.

"Kurt? Can you talk for a few minutes? I promise it's quick," Rachel said into the phone. "Finn just kissed me… Well of course I kissed him back; I've been waiting for that to happen since our first kiss freshman year… No, it was me who ran off this time… I just split from Puck! I'm still married!... Yeah I'm aware I just called him Puck, the name Noah seems too good for him, Puck is much more degrading… Shut up, just tell me what to do!... Can Finn come with me?... Okay, does next week work for you?... Great, thanks… Love you too, bye!"

Finn had heard every word Rachel said, and Rachel knew he had. She hadn't been very far from him. She came back and sat next to him, where he still had his head buried in his arms. She poked his side until he finally looked at her. Without a word he pulled her into his arms and began to sing to her, _Find Out Who Your Friends_ _Are_ by Tim McGraw.

_This is what you really didn't know  
>This is where the truth don't lie<em>

_You find out who your friends are  
>Somebody's gonna drop everything<br>Run out and crank up their car  
>Hit the gas, get there fast<br>Never stop to think 'what's in it for me?' or 'it's way too far'  
>They just show on up with their big old heart<br>You find out who your friends are_

"I'll tell Puck I can't work next week; you should tell Quinn you'll start work the following week. She probably still needs to find a band any ways. And Rach, I really think you should take her up on that friend offer. Kurt can't be your go to girl friend all the time," Finn said after he finished the song.

"I think I will…but there's one other thing I want to do before we leave," Rachel said.

"Go shopping?" Finn joked. Rachel shook her head no. She took a deep breath and began crying. Finn was pretty sure he knew what she was about to say, but he needed to hear it to believe it.

"I want to file for divorce from Puck," Rachel spat his name. Finn held back the laugh that was rising in his chest, he was terribly thrilled that Rachel felt such hatred towards Puck and the fact that she wouldn't even call him Noah now was delightful. Finn knew he shouldn't be so happy about all this but he couldn't help it.

Rachel's daddy, Hiram, was a lawyer so the divorce got set in motion quickly. Finn did Rachel the favor of calling Hiram early the next morning. Rachel sort of bribed him into it by promising home cooked breakfast, she said she'd cook it while he made the call. He laughed and then agreed.

"Hi Hiram, it's Finn… I'm doing great, how about yourself?... Good to hear. Are you still practicing law at that one firm?... Oh really? Huh, Rach didn't tell me that, well that's awesome!... Yeah, I do have a case for you actually… Well, it's a very personal case, but it's not about my own life. You won't be able to be the lawyer on it… Does your firm handle divorce?... Yep. She made the decision last night, she's absolutely positive she wants the divorce but it's still upsetting her, that's why I called… Yeah she expected that… Okay great, then we'll see you for lunch… You too, bye," Finn hung up the phone and met Rachel in the kitchen.

Finn was surprised to see waffles and bacon. He figured he might have enough stuff to make waffles in the house but he still hadn't been shopping so he didn't know where she got the bacon. He saw a Meijer receipt on the counter and wondered to himself how in the world she found time to go to Meijer. The only time they had been apart so far was this morning in the extra hour Finn had slept in.

Over breakfast Finn asked Rachel when Hiram had opened his own firm and told her that Hiram, Leroy, and the lawyer that would handle the divorce would be over for lunch. She said it was a good thing she went overboard at the grocery that morning then, because cooking them all a fancy lunch would be the only thing to calm her nerves. After they finished eating Finn called his step-brother to finalize plans and then got on his laptop and bought them tickets to and from New York. He wouldn't admit it to anyone, but he was thrilled to finally see the big city.

Lunch was hectic; Rachel prepared a fabulous crab salad with a main course of salmon bisque. Everyone said they'd prefer her meal to any restaurants and then they began talking about the important stuff. While Rachel and her lawyer, Nick, talked about the details, Finn, Leroy, and Hiram tried to conceal their excitement. They weren't doing a very good job and Rachel burst out laughing halfway through her crying fit. An hour later Nick was headed to Puck's house with the divorce papers. Rachel had said she wanted Puck to get the notice as quickly as possible so they could both move on with their lives.

When Nick arrived at the Puckerman household, Quinn answered the door. She invited the lawyer in and went to find Puck. She knew why Nick was there without him saying anything, and she couldn't help but be in a good mood because of it. Nick sat down on the couch, wondering how Hiram's princess of a daughter could have lived in this dump for four years.

"Hi Nick, how can I help you?" Puck asked, sitting down on the chair across from the Lawyer.

"Rachel Berry is filing for divorce on the terms of incompatibly and adultery. I will leave the forms here for you to read over, if you agree to the terms she has set in these forms, please sign them and have your lawyer call me at the number on the bottom of the third page. Any questions or concerns will be handled through me; Ms. Berry has asked that you do not contact her at all through the divorce procedures."

"If you have a pen on you, I can sign them right here. I don't need a lawyer, I'm sure I'll agree to everything she asked for," Puck said, flipping through the papers. Rachel wanted to sell their house and split the profit 60% her and 40% him. He thought that was more than fair, especially because he'd been screwing Quinn in the house for almost a week now.

"You will need a lawyer in court unless you want to represent yourself. Ms. Berry- " Nick began, but Puck cut him off.

"Please just call her Rachel, and why do we have to go to court if I agreed to everything?" Puck asked, rudely. The lawyer told him about state procedures but he mostly just tuned them out. He said he'd represent himself and then looked over the list of possible court dates Nick and Rachel had agreed on. They set a court date for August 7th.

After Nick left, Puck told Quinn all about the divorce and she asked him how he felt about it. He wanted to tell her he didn't care at all, he did honestly want to be divorced from Rachel and be something with Quinn, but divorce was a sensitive with him. His parents' divorce had been brutal.

_-6 years ago-_

Rachel had been living with Puck for less than two years. They hadn't fought at all since she returned from New York and Puck's parents' divorce was the first stressor in their house. His mother spent most weekends there and his father called every other night. One Friday when Puck and Rachel were trying to have a romantic dinner, Puck's father showed up unexpectedly in search of Puck's mom.

"Alright boy, open the door. I know she's here!" Puck's father, Mark, boomed through the door. Puck went to the door and lied, telling his dad that his mother hadn't been there since last weekend. It didn't work. "Anne's car is in the driveway Noah, stop trying to lie to me or I will whip your ass so hard you-"

"Mr. Puckerman? Why don't you eat dinner with Noah while you calm down, and I'll see if I can wake Annie up? She's been asleep all day, I think she's coming down with something," Rachel timidly said as she walked out of the kitchen.

"Rachel, sweetie, why did you ever settle for such a dead beat like Noah? You are such a darling, you deserve better than this ass hole," Mark said, brushing past his son and taking Rachel's seat in the kitchen. He scarfed down the plate of lasagna in an instant. Puck was seething.

"Noah, hey, look at me," Rachel begged of him, kissing him to get his attention. "Your dad is wrong, I love you and we're perfect for each other. I'm going to go wake Annie up, go feed your dad as much lasagna as it takes to settle his anger."

Puck did as he was told and Rachel went to the guest bedroom. She woke Puck's mother after a few tries and somehow convinced her to go downstairs and talk with Mark. Annie looked terrified and begged Rachel not to leave her side. Rachel promised. While Mark and Annie talked, Puck hid in the bathroom like he did as a child. He would hide until his younger sister Maddie would give him a signal it was okay to come out; he knew it was weak and childish but he couldn't help it. When the screaming didn't stop he went back to the kitchen to find Rachel still gripping Annie's hand, and sobbing uncontrollably.

"Rach come on. They're grownups, you don't need to stay here," Puck said, gently separating Rachel and Annie's hands. Annie whimpered but let Puck drag Rachel away. Puck took Rachel outside and tried to soothe her while she cried and mumbled incoherent sentences about promising to stay with Annie.

A few minutes later they hear Annie scream and they both ran back inside. Mark was gone and Annie was lying on the floor, curled up in a ball and crying. Then they finally got her to sit up they saw that she had a black eye and a fat lip; Puck had seen it before, Mark had been abusive towards Annie and Maddie when they were younger, but it seemed to have stopped in the past 5 years.

"He'd been drinking," Annie offered lamely. Rachel helped Annie up and started pulling her towards the guest bedroom, but not before she turned around and cussed out Puck. "You just had to take her away from me didn't you? You were always a coward when your father and I fought; Maddie took the worst of all of it. You think your dad wanted to hit her? No. He wanted to hit you, but you were always cowering in the bathroom. If you hadn't dragged Rachel away from us, this wouldn't have happened. I hope you'll be ready to apologize when I wake up tomorrow."

Puck didn't apologize. His mother moved to Pennsylvania, where Maddie was living, as soon as the divorce was over. Annie cut off all communication with Puck, including Rachel. For a short period of time, Rachel was upset about it because Annie was the closest thing to a mother Rachel had ever had.

**-x-**

Later that night, when Puck was crying louder than Quinn thought she'd ever heard, Quinn did something she never thought she'd do. She sang Puck to sleep, the same as her older sister Fannie had done for her when she was little. Fannie dated the only cowboy in Ohio, and therefore always sung country music to Quinn. Because it was so soothing back then, Quinn chose to sing country to Puck. She sung _Find Out Who Your Friends Are_ by Tim McGraw until he fell asleep.

Back at Finn's house, he was doing the exact same thing for Rachel. The song had become the only thing that calmed Rachel recently; more than anything she needed to know she had support. And there was something about country music that was comforting. Finn sung Rachel to sleep with that song every night that week, and he frequently hummed it while they were packing for New York.

"Finny, what's that one verse? I think it goes…" Rachel began singing and Finn sang with her. He was amazed at how well their voices still harmonized. 

_Everybody wants to slap your back  
>wants to shake your hand<br>when you're up on top of that mountain  
>But let one of those rocks give way then you slide back down look up<br>and see who's around then_

"I like that verse, it reminds me of being in New York. How Puck was so supportive when I got callbacks but then he just left when things got bad. You never left, and don't think I didn't know who was sending me those name-less checks," Rachel said.

"Psh, I don't know what you're talking about, that so wasn't me," Finn laughed. He had sent her a $500 check every month after Puck left since he knew she couldn't afford her apartment or food. $500 was all he could afford to send, even though he knew it wouldn't go far in New York.

"Oh shut up. And I plan on paying that $3,000 back when I can. And probably some sort of compensation for all of this," Rachel said, gesturing around the guest room.

"Don't worry about it Rach. You're my best friend, I'm sure you would have done the same thing for me if the roles were reversed," Finn blushed as he spoke. Rachel smiled at him and they finished packing. Their flight was the next morning at 4am, the only time they could get an affordable flight.

"Alrighty, I guess we're ready!" Rachel said at 7pm. "Should we get some sleep before we have to leave? I mean, we only have like 7 and a half hours but that's probably better than nothing. Do you want me to make some food first?"

"No, thank you though. I think we should just sleep," Finn mumbled. He was trying to build the courage to say what he really wanted, and it took Rachel pulling him into a hug for him to finally say what he was thinking. "What I really want is for you to sing me to sleep like you did in high school."

"Okay," Rachel smiled. "But we're sleeping in your bed, because I don't think you'd fit in this bed. And I hope _Find Out Who Your Friends Are_ is okay because that's the only song I've listened to in the past week."

Finn laughed and they went to his room. He set and alarm for 2am and then crawled into bed. Rachel joked about the fact they were both wearing jeans and Finn pointed out that would give them an extra 15 minutes to sleep in the morning. Rachel sang until she was too tired and then they both fell asleep.

When Finn and Rachel arrived in New York, Kurt and Blaine met them at the airport. While Rachel and Kurt talk about all the things they have to do while she's there, Blaine asks Finn for details on what's happening. Blaine and Rachel clicked the instant they met, in fact she's the person who brought him and Kurt together, and he always thought of her like a sister. He asked Finn if she was handling everything okay and what the deal between the two of them was.

"Well, other than the kiss last week, nothing's different. She acts the same around me as she always has, and I'm the same nervous doofus I've always been," Finn admitted. He didn't want to rush her into anything, but he kept praying for at least a glimmer of hope that they could be together.

"What can you expect though? She just filed for divorce, and she has spent the last 8 years having her dreams continuously crushed," Blaine said. Finn knew he was right, and was determined to make sure Rachel never had a dream crushed again.

"Boys! Hurry up! We have so many things to do in the next few days! We have dinner reservations tonight!" Rachel squealed from up ahead. She and Kurt were animatedly discussing schedules for the next four days.

"Rach, our bags," Finn reminded her. She had been so excited she almost passed the baggage claim. Finn liked the way the New York airport was set up, at the airport back home the baggage claim was past security so your greeting party couldn't help you carry bags. Kurt and Blaine each grabbed one of Rachel's four suitcases, commenting on how absurd it was that she had that many.

When they got to Blaine and Kurt's apartment, they expected extravagant interior and beautiful decor but instead the apartment was almost identical to the cheap place Rachel had lived in when she was in New York. They were also surprised to learn that Blaine and Kurt had gotten married soon after Rachel had returned to Ohio.

"We just kind of got married…we couldn't have a big wedding so we just invited Burt, Carole, Cooper and Blaine's mother and that was that," Kurt laugh, looking adoringly at Blaine. "We would have invited you guys, but uh you weren't on speaking terms and, well we kind of wanted everything to be drama free."

"Well why didn't you say something when you were in town?" Rachel asked. She was very upset being left out of the loop. Kurt was supposed to be one of her best friends, how could she not know he was married?

"Rachel, the only time we came home was for your wedding, and that was your day. We figured you'd find out eventually," Blaine explained. The real reason was that as soon as Rachel found out, they knew she'd want to come visit and they wouldn't have had anywhere for her to stay.

"Well then, how has the married life treated you?" Finn asked. He could tell Rachel was upset at the lack of information, so the more they found out now the better.

Kurt and Blaine told them about how the jobs had become less and less frequent, leaving them with no choice but to stop trying to make it on Broadway. They graduated college in 2016, the year after they got married, and without the connections their teachers gave them they had trouble finding auditions. On the rare chance they got an audition, there was usually someone with more experience who beat them for the part. They learned the hard way that New York was a jungle if you didn't have connections.

However, Kurt had made one good friend from his first show, and he had been doing minor roles or chorus parts for her since. Blaine still got big parts every two years or so but he was mostly teaching acting at the closest middle school.

"Wait wait wait, but you guys used to call me all the time about lead roles in various plays!" Rachel pointed out. It was true, they would call her about twice a year with news about another lead; it usually sent Rachel into a spiraling depression.

"Actually we never said lead," Kurt pointed out. "I usually just said we were a part of such and such play, or we were involved in such and such play."

"Kurt, you lied to her?" Blaine scoffed. "No wonder you never let me call her!"

"It wasn't lying! It was just…leaving out some of the truth," Kurt defended himself.

The four burst out laughing and Rachel felt an odd sense of relief that Kurt and Blaine's life on Broadway wasn't all that it seemed to be. Kurt's last lead role was the first one he ever got, and Blaine had one two years ago, but they were scraping by on the income they had. Blaine had callbacks for a role coming up, and it seemed hopeful because the director wanted an unknown name. Kurt had just gotten cast as the alternate lead in his friend's newest play and would be working Saturday and Sunday nights since the lead didn't want to work weekends.

"Personally, I don't know why Caitlyn puts up with him. He is such a diva, and she's said I fit the role better. My guess is they're having an affair or he has a bunch of dirt on her but who knows. My first show is this Saturday," Kurt smiled. It was a Tuesday, and Finn and Rachel weren't leaving until Sunday morning. 

"I hope you planned on us coming to see you then, because there is no way I'm missing that!" Rachel squealed. Kurt filled her in on the show's plot and Finn watched in admiration. He had missed his step-brother and he always thought Rachel prettiest when she was excited about something.

"Hey Rach, after the divorce maybe we should come back here and give you another shot on Broadway," Finn said. He was half-joking, but if Rachel said yes he'd drop everything and move in a heartbeat. Rachel just laughed, assuming it was a joke, but for the first time since she left New York, Finn saw a glimmer of hope in her eyes, and they all noticed the airy lift in her laugh.

"So who else thinks we should head to the restaurant early and participate in some Karaoke? They have a stage!" Kurt clapped his hands as he spoke. "Rachel can stand up front! But I'm warning you now, they only have country songs."

When that sent Finn and Rachel into a fit of laughter, Kurt was confused. He decided to leave it as an inside joke between them and as they walked to the restaurant he thought of the last time he and Rachel did Karaoke together.

_-10 years ago-_

Rachel had just gotten back together with Puck and although he had begged and pleaded, she had refused to break her sleepover plans with Kurt. She wouldn't admit it, but the real reason was that she was hoping to spend some quality time with Finn; he had basically poured his heart out to her in a song before Puck showed up with the wrong flowers.

To her dismay, when she arrived at Kurt's house she discovered that Finn was spending the night at Puck's place. She really hoped it wasn't because he was avoiding her but when she asked Kurt the reason, he didn't say a thing.

"Kurt, tell me what to do!" Rachel pleaded over dinner. Kurt had made them a quiche and Rachel had to admit it was phenomenal. But she could barely eat because she was so upset about her boys.

"Has anyone ever told you that you are a mega drama queen?" Kurt joked. He didn't want to talk about Puck and Finn anymore, but he stopped resisting when he saw Rachel pouting. "Look, you just took Puck back. Breaking up with him for Finn right now would be disgustingly stupid. Finn is hurt, really hurt, by your choice so there's no guarantee he'd want to be with you right now anyways. And I'm pretty sure if you dumped Puck right after you got back together with him, there would be a lot of drama. Let's get through graduation at least."

"I love _NOAH_, really I do, but what if I love Finn more…" Rachel wondered aloud. Kurt gave her his 'you've-got-to-be-shitting-me-woman' look and she caved. "Fine! I'll be drama free until after graduation!"

"You? Drama free? Yeah right! Rachel the only way you could be drama free is if you were acting…or," Kurt dragged out the word until Rachel was so curious she begged him to tell her what he was thinking. "Or when you're singing…then again, you cry during solos. But duets, well, I just got a new Karaoke machine. Let's go try it out!"

Kurt and Rachel ran down to Kurt's bedroom, grabbed the machine and used Finn's bed as an impromptu stage. They sang every song on the machine, finishing with _Find Out Who Your Friends Are_ and collapsing in a fit of giggles on Finn's bed. A moment later they looked up to see Finn smirking in the door way.

"Finny! How long have you been there?" Rachel asked anxiously. She and Kurt scrambled off Finn's bed, and Rachel quickly smoothed out her dress. "Why are you home?" 

"So glad to see you too," Finn joked. "I was here long enough to see your rockin' country duet, thankfully enough. I must say: Kurt, country is totally your thing."

Kurt snarled and brushed past them, winking at Rachel as he left them alone. She planned to yell at him later for making her situation just that much more confusing. How was she supposed to move on from Finn when he was standing there smiling at her like that? And he was wearing the shirt she bought him for Christmas, her favorite shirt of his.

"I thought you had plans tonight," Rachel mumbled. She smoothed out the sheets on Finn's bed; cleaning was a nervous habit of hers.

"I did, but I cancelled. This is probably going to be out last sleepover before graduation, and I'm working all summer so even if you sleep over here, I probably won't see you. Plus I have football camp for a month. I figured I deserved one more night of you singing me through my nightmares. And don't worry, I already told Kurt…he was kind of expecting me," Finn explained. They could both hear Kurt laughing from his own bed room. He ducked his head in Finn's door a minute later.

"Yeah, I'm actually spending the night at Blaine's because his parents are gone so, have fun!" Kurt laughed before literally running all the way out the front door. Neither Rachel nor Finn spoke until they heard Kurt start his car and peel out of the driveway.

"He set this up, didn't he?" Rachel asked. Finn shook his head no.

"Actually, I did. He just agreed because I promised to cover with Burt and my mom so he could spend the night with Blaine. If they ask, he wasn't feeling well and he's in the bathroom. I just wanted to have another night with you because even if it was possible, Puck wouldn't let any of this happen after we graduate," Finn admitted.

"Noah," Rachel corrected quietly. "S-so-so what did you want to do?"

"Can I just hold you? For one more night," Finn asked. Rachel nodded and the crawled into his bed. As they fell asleep they both felt it. They knew this was sort of the end of everything for them.

**-x-**

Later that night Finn and Rachel curled up on Kurt and Blaine's pull out couch. Rachel laughed at the fact that it was bigger than her bed at Finn's house, even though she hadn't spent many nights on that bed. A few hours after they had settled in for bed, Rachel nudged Finn. Neither of them were asleep.

"Did you mean it?" Rachel whispered into Finn's chest.

"Mean what?" Finn asked, in a dream like state.

"Did you mean it when you said we could move out here after the divorce?" Rachel tried to hide the hope in her voice, but she didn't do a very good job. Finn puller her closer and laughed lightly. As if she really had to ask…

"Rach I think you know that I would drop everything for you. If you want to move out here, we'll start looking for apartments tomorrow. Maybe we can find one by Kurt and Blaine, wouldn't that be fun?" Finn said soothingly. He knew Rachel felt anxious.

Finn could feel her smiling into his chest as she nodded yes. After a few minutes he could feel tears running from her eyes to his shirt and he looked down to see her grinning and looking up at him. He asked her if she was okay and she told him she'd never been happier. They both knew that she really meant it.

**A/N:** Okay so this update came kinda quick, because I'm still on spring break. But! Tomorrow is Easter and then school starts again Monday, so chapter 7 might not appear for a week or so. Sorry! But please review!


	7. I'm Movin' On

**A/N: **Sorry this took so long! Kind of a monumental chapter!  
>Song: I'm Movin' On by Rascal Flatts<br>youtube [dot] com/watch?v=fz1N8W8phec&ob=av2n 

_**!**_

Every day when Kurt was at rehearsals and shows, and Blaine was at work or auditions, Finn and Rachel went apartment hunting. They looked online for apartments and then found the best bus route there. After asking countless questions of the building managers, and recording the price and notes in Rachel's pink notebook, the one with the star on the front, they'd head back to the bus and to a new apartment.

By Friday night they had found 8 apartments that not only fit their budget, but fit their wants as well. The apartment Rachel wanted most was too expensive; especially since neither Rachel nor Finn would have a job once they moved. Rachel felt bad about bailing on Quinn, but once she got home she'd have 3 weeks to work at Lucy Goosey before the divorce was finalized, and she couldn't move until it was. 3 weeks was plenty of time to find a replacement.

"Wait, Rach, show me the second one again?" Kurt asked. He and Blaine were looking over the pictures of the apartments Rachel had printed off the internet. "Gross, rule this one out. It's not only tiny, but hideous."

"Kurt, they're all tiny…so is yours… but yeah it's ugly," Rachel laughed. Finn was too indecisive to help Rachel pick an apartment so he was cooking a late dinner for the four of them while Kurt and Blaine looked over the choices.

"Do you guys have to decide before you leave?" Blaine asked. Finn and Rachel were heading home Sunday morning, at a very annoying flight time of 5am. Originally, Kurt said he'd take them to the airport but he had his opening night of his friends play Saturday night.

"Yeah, because we have until Monday to put a deposit down so they'll have the apartment ready by August 20th, which is the very soonest we can move in. Mailing a check wouldn't work because there's no post Sunday, which is when we get home," Rachel explained. She had already sent links of the apartments to her dad's, along with Burt and Carole. All of the parents had been in favor of the fourth apartment because it was in the "safest" neighborhood.

"Well I agree with Leroy and Hiram…and Burt and Carole… that apartment four would be safest, but it's also the most money for the least space, and if you move in the one two streets down from us you can spend the money you save on insurance," Blaine said. He wanted them to move as close to him as possible, so he would have an escape when Kurt was freaking out about one thing or another, or vice-versa.

"Blaine, do we really want them _that_ close?" Kurt joked. Rachel and Blaine just looked at him; even Finn came out of the kitchen to stare at him. "It was a joke! Jeez! Rachel, please pick one or three, because those are the ones in walking distance from us. It'll be just like high school!"

"Alright. Finnny? Do you have a preference between the first and the third one?" Rachel asked. Finn, who had retreated back to the kitchen, came out to look at the two apartments. The first one, three streets from Kurt and Blaine's, was a two bedroom, one bath, with all utilities included. The third one, two streets from Kurt and Blaine's, was a one bedroom, one and a half bath, with hot water free but a small monthly charge for heat and electricity.

"The third one. Definitely the third one," Finn smiled. Rachel smiled back at him, knowing he picked it because there was only one bedroom. Over all, the first one was a much better deal even though it was a little more expensive, but they both knew the two bedrooms were unnecessary.

"Wait wait wait," Kurt exclaimed. "Pick the first one. I know you want to share a bed, but you can use one bedroom for your actual bed and the other can be storage and a guest room. Then Blaine or I can spend a night when we hate each other… oh don't give me that look, it happens to the best married couples! Anyways, one closet won't be enough for all of Rachel's clothes, and the first one has all utilities."

Rachel and Finn thought it over and agreed. Rachel called the apartment manager, and Finn went to the kitchen to check on dinner. As he stirred the pasta sauce he thought about what Kurt said, "It'll be just like high school," and remembered one of the countless sleepovers they had had.

_-11 years ago-_

As Rachel pulled up to Kurt and Finn's house Saturday night, Finn bounced up and down on the sofa. Since the first sleepover, Rachel had probably spent at least 300 nights at the Hummel-Hudson household, but Finn still looked like a kid in a candy store every time she arrived.

"Do I need to lock you in a kennel? Seriously, you do this every time. She's my friend, and you know the rules. You have to leave us alone until after dinner," Kurt glared. Finn stopped bouncing and pouted at Kurt. "Oh my god, stop. Finn we go over this literally every time. Could you possibly be more obnoxiously in love with her? It's kind of sickening."

"You're the exact same way about Blaine! And don't say it's different because you two are dating. And -" Finn started. He stopped when the door opened and Rachel came in crying. Wordlessly, both Finn and Kurt got off the couch and hugged her. Behind Rachel's back Kurt mouthed 'fine' to let Finn know he could ignore the sleepover rules for the night.

"Rach, what's wrong?" Kurt asked. Rachel whimpered and started crying harder in reply. When the boys pulled out of the hug, Rachel almost fell over from the force of her crying. Kurt gave Finn a look and Finn picked her up, she settled into his arms naturally and he carried her to Kurt's bed.

"I don't – I – I don't really know," Rachel hiccupped. "I was okay when I – when I drove over here but I – I just started crying at the d-door step."

"You had an audition today didn't you?" Kurt asked. The local community center was putting on a musical and Rachel had auditioned for the lead. She nodded. "How did that go?"

"C-call backs. N-next w-week." Rachel began hiccupping more and more, and she had trouble getting through a sentence. Kurt stopped asking questions. Rachel had settled into Finn's arms, so he mouthed the word 'guitar' to Kurt, who understood what he was trying to do and retrieved Finn's guitar from his room.

"Rach, I gotta move so I can play. Do you want to rest on Kurt or the pillows?" Finn asked gently. Rachel shifted over into Kurt's arms. Finn began singing _I'm Movin On_ by Rascal Flatts.

_I'm movin' on  
>At last I can see life has been patiently waiting for me<br>And I know there's no guarantees, but I'm not alone  
>There comes a time in everyone's life<br>When all you can see are the years passing by  
>And I have made up my mind that those days are gone<em>

When Finn finished singing, Rachel had fallen asleep in Kurt's arms. Kurt denied the fact that he had tears on his cheek. Rachel didn't wake up again until morning, so Finn and Kurt spent a majority of the night in Kurt's bed talking. They discussed the way Rachel had been acting near Puck, wondering if perhaps that's why she was upset; they discussed Finn's feelings for Rachel and Kurt told Finn more about Blaine then Finn had ever needed to know. Kurt fell asleep somewhere around 2am, but Finn stayed up. He knew if he tried to sleep, he'd have nightmares and he didn't want to wake Rachel or Kurt.

Rachel woke up at 6am, having slept for over 12 hours. She felt disoriented at first, but quickly noticed Kurt and Finn. Finn's eyelids were drooping but he was awake. Rachel poked him and he smiled at her.

"Did you stay up all night Finny?" Rachel asked. He nodded. "I don't know what I'm going to do without in college."

**-x-**

Saturday was chaotic, but Kurt's show was phenomenal. After the show, Kurt and Blaine went out for a celebratory dinner and Finn and Rachel went back to the apartment to get a few hour of sleep before they headed back to New York. Right after Kurt's show, they met in the lobby and told the boys they'd see them in a few weeks and not to bother waking up in the morning, Rachel and Finn could manage getting to the airport on their own.

They were wrong. They got lost on the bus route, and missed their flight. They finally got to the airport at 7am, but the bus got stuck behind a stretch limo. Rachel leaned out of the window anxiously trying to see who was in the limo. A wheel chair ramp dropped out of the door and Finn and Rachel watched their old friend roll off.

"ARTIE ABRAMS?" Rachel screamed out of the window. Artie turned around and a grin split across his face when he saw his high school friends. Finn and Rachel grabbed their suitcases, all 5 of them, and rushed off the bus, receiving many glares from the other passengers.

"Rachel and Finn! What are you two doing in New York? Last I heard you were both still in Lima!" Artie had been in New York at one of the 6 hospitals he worked at around the country. Being a world renowned doctor had its bonuses, but he really didn't like traveling. He didn't need his wheelchair anymore, his research had given him the technology and medicine to walk, but traveling had always made him anxious so he opted to use it. He stood up to hug Rachel and Finn.

"Jeez dude, you really are walking. Quinn had told me that but it's kind of… unbelievably awesome. Why even use the wheel chair?" Finn asked.

"Extra comfort while traveling I guess. But really, what are you two doing here?" Artie sat back down and wheeled himself in, followed by Rachel, Finn, and about 4 of the people who worked for him.

"Trying to find a way home. We were visiting Kurt and Blaine, but kind of missed our flight," Rachel explained. Artie looked at them like they were stupid, and then realized they would have no way of knowing he owned his own airplane.

"Well, you're in luck. I'm headed to my Michigan location so I can give you a lift," Artie said. Rachel and Finn gawked at him. "Yeah, having crazy amounts of money is sort of awesome. Let me talk to the pilot and make sure we can stop at the Ohio airport, but it shouldn't be a problem. Meet me at gate A9, and if they ask you for tickets at security just say you're with me… Actually, Albert, go with them."

One of Artie's employees, Albert, walked with Rachel and Finn, explaining some of Artie's work and how much he traveled. Artie had bought his airplane two years ago for him and his associates to travel in, since it was a lot less hassle than a jet, car, or any form of public transportation. By the time they reached gate A9 Artie had already gotten everything settled and was waiting on the plane. Upon boarding they saw that it must have originally been a public airplane, but every other row had been taken out and seats were facing each other. First class had been turned into a kitchen-esque place.

Rachel and Finn took the seats closest to Arties private area, where he was buckled into an extra large and cushy chair, his wheelchair folded up next to him. They put all their suitcases, that didn't need to be checked because they were flying privately, on the seats surrounding them, and sat down holding hands.

"So, Rachel…" Artie started, glancing and her and Finn's interlocked hands. "How long have you and Finn been together? Always knew it would happen, in high school we were all waiting for you to kick Puck to the curb."

"Oh – uh – actually," Finn stammered, starting to pull his hand away from Rachel. She gripped his hand tighter. "We're not together. And Rachel is married to No–"

"I have filed for divorce from _Puck,_ and Finn is just my best friend and biggest supporter," Rachel explained. "Puckerman cheated on me with Quinn Fabray, which Kurt informed me had also been happening in high school. Puck and Quinn are together, and I'm happy for her. If she wants to be with that scum bag, it's her choice. I'm just happy to be done. Finn and I are moving to New York in a few weeks!"

"Wow Rachel, that's great. Well, the moving to New York part is," Artie laughed. When Rachel was distracted looking out the window, Artie gave Finn an odd look. Finn mouthed 'I'll call you later' and slipped Artie his cell phone. Artie put his number and passed the phone back to Finn.

"Thank you so much Artie, I don't know what we would have done if we hadn't seen you," Rachel hugged him after the plane landed in Ohio. "Also, we can't wait 10 years to see each other again, deal?"

Artie nodded and wished them both luck in New York, and he promised to visit next time he was at his New York location. They both thanked him again, profusely, and got off the plane.

After Finn and Rachel unpacked, Rachel called Quinn to tell her about their plans and Finn headed to the garage to talk to Puck. He didn't know how Puck would take the news; living with Rachel in Ohio while she tried to get back on her feet was one thing, but moving to New York with her was another thing completely; plus Puck still didn't know Rachel was living with Finn. When he got to the shop he heard the radio, _I'm Movin On_, coming from Pucks office. He knocked once before entering.

"Uh, dude, I've got something kinda big to talk to you about, is now a good time?" Finn asked. Puck switched off the radio and gestured towards the chair across the desk from him. "Okay so, as you know, Rach and I were in New York visiting Kurt and Blaine. And um… we're moving there after your divorce goes through."

"You. And Rachel. Are moving to New York. Together." Puck emphasized the word together. Both boys sat quietly for what seemed like forever as Puck thought. "Well, guess I don't have an assistant manager then… But I'm glad she gets another chance at the stardom she deserves."

"Wait, you're not mad?" Finn asked. He was shocked; there was no way Puck was okay with Finn and Rachel doing _anything_ together.

"You're my best friend, and I still love her, just not in the same way you do," Puck said. Finn tried to argue but Puck wouldn't let him. "Dude, I'm not stupid. You've been in love with her since freshman year. I don't know why you bothered to stay friends with me, I mean I was kind of shitty for going after her in the first place, but jeez how were you okay with me marrying her? Look, we could fight about this or we could accept the fact that things fell into place and we're finally with the girls we should be with, Quinn and I are happy and you and Rachel deserve to be happy too. Even if you're not "together" yet, you will be. She loves you Finn, she just doesn't know it. Give her time, and give her space, and be there for her after every single audition. And find me a friggin employee to replace you."

"Puck, you constantly amaze me. No wonder she fell for you," Finn laughed, and stood up to hug his best friend.

"Which she? 'Cuz Rachel never actually did. I was just an easy way for her to run away from true love, which has always terrified her, and probably still does, or else she'd be with you already. Quinn… Jeez I have no idea how that girl fell for a loser like me, but I sure am grateful," Puck said. Finn's jaw hit the floor; he didn't think Puck was capable of such profound thinking. "Don't give me that look; I have my moments of intelligence too! And listen, I know you know Rachel better than I ever did, and you mean more to her than I ever have. It won't be long til she gets over her fears and admits her feelings, which I promise you she has, just keep… Never stop singing to her Finn. It's her favorite sound in the world."

Finn thanked Puck and left, promising he'd work until they moved. On his way home he picked up a pizza for him and Rachel, which he decided would be acceptable since they just got home. He hoped Rachel's conversation with Quinn had gone as well as his conversation with Puck.

While Rachel and Finn were discussing their future plans, so were Puck and Quinn. Puck had left the garage soon after Finn did, rushing home to talk to Quinn. He knew Rachel was booked as her musical act and he assumed Rachel would have talked to her already.

"Hey babe, I'm back. Did you talk to Rachel?" Puck called when he walked in the front door. Quinn came down stairs in a thong and a tank top, winked, then headed back to the bedroom. Puck followed. Both of them came back down stairs an hour later, in nothing but undergarments and robes.

"Oh and to answer your question, yes Rachel called me. I'm happy for them… How do you feel about it? I mean, Finn is your best friend? Or..was?" Quinn wondered aloud.

"Is. We switched girls, can't exactly end a friendship over that," Puck laughed. Quinn's expression didn't change. "Plus I don't love Rachel like that, I love you. So why would I care what they do together?"

Quinn smiled and kissed Puck quickly before they sat down to an oddly quiet dinner. They were both lost in thought, Quinn about Puck and Puck about his friendship with Finn.

_-14 years ago-_

Puck had just gotten out of juvie and was starting 8th grade at a new school. He figured everyone already knew about his summer at juvie, and if they didn't then his mohawk would be a giveaway. He figured he didn't need to worry about making new friends because everyone would be scared of him. He didn't expect that that someone would sit at his table during lunch, especially not the innocent and awkwardly tall Finn.

"Um, hi. I saw you sitting alone and I sit alone too sometimes so I thought I'd sit with you. I like your hair," Finn said awkwardly, sitting across the table from Puck. Puck snorted a laugh. "You don't have to talk to me or anything."

Just then one of the surprisingly buff "jocks" poured two cartons of milk on Finn's head. Without thinking, Puck stood up and punched the guy square in the jaw. Realizing it was "that-badass-from-juvie" the jock ran off to the nurses office, promising not to squeal on who punched him. No one wanted to be the kid who sent Puck back to juvie.

"What the hell dude, I can't be friends with someone who'll embarrass me by getting bullied," Puck said as he handed Finn a wad of paper towels. Finn looked up at him, not knowing if he should be insulted or happy. "I'm kidding. Does that happen a lot? Cuz it sure as hell won't anymore."

The unlikely pair became best friends from that point on. Puck stopped people from picking on Finn and Finn helped Puck find stuff in the school, and somehow convinced him not to ditch any classes. Soon they started hanging out and helping each other with a lot more personal issues like Puck's parents' divorce and Finn's mom's marriage. By the end of 8th grade, they were practically brothers.

**-x-**

The next few weeks went by way to slowly, Finn working at the garage as often as he could to save money for New York and Rachel singing at Lucy Goosey every night. In their spare time they packed and prepared for their move, Finn noticing how Rachel got a lot _friendlier_ as their departure date got closer.

On the morning of August 7th, Finn woke Rachel up with a breakfast in bed of pancakes and hash browns. After she finished eating, he had already set out her outfit and all the things she needed. Nick came to pick them up at noon for their 2pm court time. Finn had to wait in the lobby, but before Rachel headed in she gave him a big hug, thanked him, and kissed him on the cheek.

As Rachel sat in the waiting area and watched multiple other couples go through quick divorce trials she checked her phone as she put it on silent. She had one text from Finn.

**Finn [1:39pm]:** "I sold what I could and packed what I couldn't, stopped to fill up on my way out of town. I've loved like I should but lived like I shouldn't. I had to lose everything to find out, maybe forgiveness will find me somewhere down this road. I'm movin' on" –Rascal Flatts. T-minus thirteen days til New York.

Rachel smiled, turning her phone off as the judge called their case. The divorce took a total of 30 minutes, and then it was over. Nick drove Finn and Rachel home, where they cuddled up on the couch and Rachel fell asleep, remembering when moving to New York with Finn was only a dream.

_-13 years ago-_

Rachel had known Finn for a month, since their awkward and unplanned stage kiss in theatre class. She knew him and her best friend, Kurt, were step-brothers but since Finn was always gone when she slept over at Kurt's house, she still never saw him. They had theatre together still, but since they hadn't been paired together since the kiss, they hardly ever got to talk.

"Kurt, please don't hit me, but uh… I have a crush on your step brother," Rachel admitted to Kurt one day during lunch. Kurt burst out laughing. "Why is that so funny?" 

"It's not the crush that's funny sweetie, it's the fact you thought I didn't know. Rachel, I'm your best friend. I know you too well," Kurt said. "Alright, stop bouncing and tell me all about how great and cute and blah blah blah he is."

"Well! If you don't want to hear about it –" Rachel started. Kurt cut her off and said he'd love to hear about her crush. "Kurt, I haven't stopped thinking about him since our kiss. I used to dream about living on my own and making it on my own in New York, proving to everyone how much of a star I am, but now I see Finn there with me. And I hardly ever talk to him!"

"Yeah but you're a hopeless romantic so you know... love at first… kiss I guess," Kurt half-heartedly said. He loved Rachel, even her obsessive crazy in love side, but he was working on math homework and her crush spiels didn't require his full attention.

"The answer is x = 13. And seriously Kurt? While telling me you think I'm in love with someone you're working on algebra? How considerate of you." Rachel huffed and pulled out her iPod. "If you don't want to talk I can just practice my song for Glee. I'm singing_ I'm Movin' On_ by Rascal Flatts."

"Woah woah woah. No, if you really think you might love him, we'll talk about it. Especially if it stops you from singing in the cafeteria, we don't need to start a food fight. Good song choice by the way," Kurt said while he wrote down x=13 and put his math homework away. "Now, do you _really_ think you love him?"

"Were you not listening? I dream about him living with me in New York. I said I didn't even want you to live with me, and you're my best friend. I've told you a million times that anyone living with me would just get in my way, but I've already planned what our bedroom will look like. Tell me that doesn't mean something, I dare you."

"Well for one thing, it means you're psycho. But yeah… I guess that is kind of a big deal. I don't know if I should be offended or happy for you," Kurt said. It had upset him when Rachel first told him that he'd slow her down in New York, but having his own Broadway dreams made him understand. Plus, no one could stand Rachel Berry 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It was just too much.

"It's a little too soon to be happy for me, we don't say more than 5 words to each other a day," Rachel pouted. It was true, they exchanged 'hello's and 'how are you's, but that was it.

"I think I can fix that." Kurt winked. He wouldn't tell Rachel his plan, and a month went by before she learned it.

**-x-**

"Rach! The truck is packed! Let's go!" Finn called from the doorway. Most of their stuff was in the truck, ready to move to New York. It was going to be a long drive, but they couldn't afford to fly and have movers bring their stuff, so they were renting a truck that they could return to a location in New York.

"Ready!" Rachel bounced towards him with their last suitcase, ponytail bobbing. August had been getting increasingly hotter as the month went on, and the 20th put them both in shorts and tanks, but Rachel looked much cuter than Finn.

They both got in the truck and Rachel made sure their snacks were in reachable distance. They stopped by Quinn's house, the Berry household, and the Hummel-Hudson household before leaving. Finally Rachel was getting what she had been hoping for since freshman year.

"Alright babe, here we go," Rachel said. Finn focused on his driving and tried to ignore the pet name, turning up the radio. _I'm Movin' On_ blasted through the speakers in the truck.

_I've lived in this place and I know all the faces  
>Each one is different but they're always the same<br>They mean me no harm but it's time that I face it  
>They'll never allow me to change<br>But I never dreamed home would end up where I don't belong  
>I'm movin' on<em>

**A/N:** So I feel like this is just getting started, now that they're in New York together like they belong! More coming soon, but reviews will make it come sooner!


	8. First Time

**A/N:** Okay so I'm anticipating trouble with this chapter! This is the kind of stuff I'm not good at writing and stall it as long as possible (hence why this update took longer than expected), so this very well may turn out short and awkward. But sadly, it's necessary for something that's gonna happen next chapter. So alas, awkwardness! Ps. Sex.

Oh and also, since I've totally forgotten about Rachel being a vegan in previous chapters, I decided that for the purpose of my story, she's a vegetarian who eats seafood, because that's consistent with my pervious chapters. Kay cool!

Song: First Time by Lifehouse  
>youtube [dot] com watch?v=J0YvWQNWEJA&ob=av2n

_**!**_

The trip took 11 hours with only two stops and no breaks to sleep. Rachel had spent the entire car ride singing along to every song that came on the radio, no matter what station Finn put it on. At some point in Pennsylvania, Finn had put on an oldies station and Rachel laughed as she sang every word to a song from the 60s. It never failed to surprise Finn that Rachel knew so many songs.

They pulled up in front of their new apartment at 10pm and started unloading the truck. At some point Rachel must have called Kurt and Blaine, because the two showed up in old jeans, ready to help. The truck only had 90% of their stuff, Rachel's dads were going to bring the rest when they came to visit the following week, but it still took 3 hours to unload. At 1am the four collapsed on Finn and Rachel's couch.

"So Rachel, how's it feel to be in New York again?" Kurt asked. Finn had lived with him for years, but was convinced this was the first time he had seen Kurt in loose jeans and a tshirt. Blaine was wearing a Cheerios tshirt and Kurt's shirt said something about Dalton and 2009, so it clearly belonged to Blaine. Even Finn thought it was adorable that they switched shirts.

"It's a dream come true," Rachel admitted. She took Finn's hand and looked him in the eyes. "In more ways than one."

"Well we should probably let you guys get some sleep, but tomorrow night we're going out to celebrate! We'll have to find a new bar though, because the only one Kurt and I know of is a gay bar," Blaine laughed. Kurt playfully slapped him, because even though they were grown-ups now, Finn was still his step-brother.

Kurt and Blaine left, walking the three streets back to their apartment, texting Finn that they got home safely. Rachel brushed her teeth and had started to rummage through boxes looking for pajamas but had given up hope and collapsed on the mattress, even though it was on a floor and had no sheets or pillows. Finn laughed when he came out of the bathroom and saw her still in her shorts and tank, sprawled out on a bare mattress. Suddenly realizing how tired he was, he laid with her, providing all the pillowing she could every need.

Rachel woke up at 9am, still snuggled into Finn who was sound asleep. She wanted to get up and get coffee, but knew the coffee maker was buried in one of the Kitchen Stuff boxes. She stood up and stretched, walking to the window across the room. When she peeked out she saw a coffee kart on the street right below and bounced downstairs to get herself and Finn a cup. By the time she got back upstairs, Finn had started hugging his knees and whining in his sleep from the lack of warmth in her absence.

"Finny, I got us coffee!" Rachel sung way too loudly. Finn grumbled, but sat up anyways. Rachel handed him his coffee and sat next to him on their mattress. "We should probably put our bed frame back together. And you know, unpack stuff."

"Oh you mean you don't want to spend every night lying on a mattress on the floor?" Finn joked. He nursed his coffee, still far from awake. He would never get used to how much of a morning person Rachel was. She practically sprung out of bed in the morning. "Let's go out to breakfast first, I need some meat." 

"Gross." Rachel wrinkled her nose and laughed. She always pretended to have a huge problem with Finn eating meat since she herself was a vegetarian, but she still made him bacon or sausage almost every morning. "There's a diner across the street, want to see what they have?"

"Sure, just let me brush my teeth." Finn smiled. He couldn't believe he was actually living in New York with Rachel Berry. It felt sort of surreal to him.

Finn and Rachel had a surprising delicious breakfast at the diner. Rachel took notice of how small and dirty the place was, but when they set a beautiful plate of triple berry pancakes in front of her she forgot how disgusted she was. For a crummy looking diner, the food was extremely impressive.

"This place is awesome Rach," Finn noted. His omelet was so filled with meat that the stench was on the verge of making Rachel nauseous. However, he devoured it so quickly that she could only smell it for a minute or two. "Too bad they don't need a singer; it'd be a cool place to work until you get a role."

"If I get a role," Rachel sighed. She wanted to be in New York, but she was kind of uneasy about actually getting anywhere. She had tried so hard last time, but last time she didn't have Finn.

"If I didn't think you'd get a role, I wouldn't have moved out here with you," Finn said. They both knew that was a lie, he would have followed her anywhere for any reason. "I'm going to see if they need any help. How cool would it be if I could cook here? I mean, the only experience I have is my kitchen but I'm a quick learner."

Rachel smiled and encouraged him. He had never taken a culinary class in his life, but Rachel loved his cooking. For a couple years, Finn had become so involved in cooking at home that he would buy 6 or 7 cookbooks at a time and gawk at them like they were Playboy Magazines. She had seen him cook everything from spaghetti to beef wellington, the latter of which Rachel was bummed she couldn't try because it looked very impressive. When Finn came back with an application and a sticky note telling him when to come in for an interview, Rachel couldn't help but feel overjoyed. When she and Puck were here, Puck refused to work and support them, but here Finn was, excited to work and trying something new.

"Well, apparently they only have one chef because they had to fire their second dude. They said I had to fill out an application for legal reasons but I have an interview slash training session on Tuesday. I told them I'd only cooked at home but they said that was probably good, because they'd interviewed a bunch of stuck up people who graduated from the Culinary Institute of America and they were getting sick of it. This could work out for me Rach," Finn gushed. Rachel just laughed and hugged Finn over the table.

The two paid their bill and went back to their apartment, moving all the boxes to their designated room, which was written on top in Rachel's fancy handwriting. They were both sick of unpacking before they even opened a box, but figured they should at least unpack their clothes. Finn finished his bedroom stuff in an hour, and moved on to the kitchen, where as it took Rachel four hours to unpack all her clothes. She took Kurt's suggestion and used the guest room as a walk in closet, hanging up a stick-on rack that extended the length of the room. Once the pair got going, they didn't stop. They were completely finished unpacking by 5pm, when Kurt and Blaine appeared at the door, dressed to impress.

"Woah, you guys look hot!" Rachel squealed. She was beyond hyper; her lunch had consisted of some pecans and a five hour energy. Finn made a mental note to never give her five hour energy again. "Finny we have to change! And I need a shower! Can we leave at like, six?"

"Oh god, Finn what did you give her?" Kurt asked. Rachel was literally bouncing up and down in place. Blaine got hyper just from watching her and the two skipped off to Rachel's closet to pick out an outfit. "Do you ever think they're siblings? I think Rachel was actually lost at birth, and that's why she was adopted. The hospital didn't know what to do with her after they accidentally separated her from her twin."

"Have you ever thought of writing plays? You're so creatively dramatic," Finn teased. "We were unpacking all day, so she had a five hour energy at lunch. Don't worry, it'll never happen again. I want to look nice, go find something in my closet."

"Wow. Rude. But I will, because I want you to impress Rachel," Kurt sighed and walked into the bedroom. He found a pair of dark jeans he assumed were new and the only button down shirt Finn had in his closet. "Finn, are you against wearing a bowtie?"

After tons of whining and begging from Rachel, Blaine, and Kurt, Finn gave in and wore the bowtie. He ditched it in Rachel's purse before they even got to the bar though, because it was way too uncomfortable for him. When they first entered the bar, Rachel was struck with déjà vu because the place looked very similar to Lucy Goosey.

The biggest difference Rachel noticed was that instead of a band or a DJ, most of the music came from a karaoke machine. Since it was vacated when they entered, Rachel downed a shot of Vodka and headed straight towards it. Finn sipped his beer and tried not to ogle Rachel in the tight blue shirt and equally tight black skirt she was wearing. He made a mental note to ask Blaine if the outfit was new, because he had never seen her in it before. He would definitely remember seeing her in an outfit like that.

"I'm Rachel Berry and I'm going to sing track 9!" Rachel hollered into the microphone. It didn't take anything to get her drunk, and the shot of Vodka on top of the energy she already had was enough to make her a little crazy. Finn recognized the song immediately; _First Time_ by Lifehouse.

_We're both looking for something  
>We've been afraid to find<br>It's easier to be broken  
>It's easier to hide<em>

_Looking at you, holding my breath,  
>For once in my life, I'm scared to death,<br>I'm taking a chance, letting you inside._

As Rachel continued the song, Finn downed another beer and a half. Finn had mixed feelings towards the song. And even though he loved hearing Rachel sing it and her voice was flawless, he couldn't help but cringe at some of the flashbacks the song caused.

_-16 years ago-_

As sophomore year came to an end, Finn knew he should be excited for summer, especially since it meant Rachel would sleepover more. Instead, he was depressed, because summer meant Rachel had more time to spend with Puck. Finn knew their relationship was becoming more serious, especially since Puck had completely stopped talking to Quinn. Finn was gathering his books to return to the library on Friday when Santana leaned against the locker next to him.

"Alright. Let's go out," Santana said. She looked bored and far from interested, plus the last time Finn "went out" with her, Brittany came along and neither girl talked to him.

"Are you actually going to talk to me this time?" Finn asked. It would probably do him good to go out with someone else, but it would be pointless if Santana was going to ignore him the whole time.

"I don't really talk… during," Santana started. She slammed Finn's locker shut and narrowed her eyes. "Look Finn, it's high time you lost the Big V. Everything about you screams "virgin." You're about as sexy as a cabbage patch kid; it's exhausting to look at you."

"Uh, I appreciate the offer, but I have feelings for someone else and I'm trying to work that out," Finn stammered. He tried to walk away but Santana grabbed his arm and stopped him.

"Rachel? Give that up, she's probably banged Puckerman like a million times already," Santana spat out. She was pissed, and Finn didn't understand why.

"Um, I doubt that." Finn blushed at the topic, but he was certain either Rachel or Puck would have told him if they had sex… Wouldn't they?

"Please, you can smell it on her. She's like a cat in heat. She talked about him yesterday and practically sprayed the choir room. So, come on, let's do the deed. It'll be great for my image and Sue will promote me to head cheerleader. Win-win."

"Wait, what do I get out of it?" Finn asked. He wasn't sure if he should be offended, confused, or both. Probably both.

"I don't know. You get to have sex? And make Rachel jealous? I meant for me, okay? Win-win for me," Santana admitted, quite obviously annoyed that Finn would even have to think about saying yes.

Feeling lonely and depressed, Finn agreed. They met at a motel later that night, skipping dinner because they both knew it would be pointless and awkward. Finn kept trying to get in the mood and feel attracted to Santana, but as she strutted around in lingerie and lit candles, Finn couldn't have felt more turned off. Santana switched on some music "to set the mood." _First Time_ by Lifehouse.

As much as Finn wanted to back out, he didn't. The first time was supposed to mean something, so maybe having sex with Santana would help him get over Rachel. It didn't. He left the motel room that night feeling even more depressed, lonely, and confused, but also feeling completely disgusted with himself. Rachel would be so disappointed in him if she knew, so he decided he wouldn't tell her. Ever.

**-x-**

Of course, since then, Rachel had figured it out. Finn had off-handedly made a comment about caring about Santana since she was his first when she came out of the closet senior year, but Rachel still didn't know why Finn had sex with Santana. As Rachel sang the last lines of _First Time_, Finn forgot all about that horrible night and focused instead on the beautiful girl who skipped over to him and plopped herself in his lap, helping herself to the two shots sitting on the bar in front of him.

"Kurt-sy and Blaine-sy disappeared!" Rachel giggled as she draped herself over Finn. "I want one of those pink drinks!"

"You sure you haven't had too much to drink already? Kurt and Blaine are up there singing Rach," Finn said. He ordered her a drink anyways; she was pouting at him.

A few drinks later, Finn was carrying Rachel home. The bar was around the block from Kurt and Blaine's, and only 4 streets away from Finn and Rachel's. Rachel kept placing sloppy kisses on Finn's face and neck, and Kurt, who was barely even tipsy, was trying to decide if he should be worried or happy for them. Kurt wanted Finn to have his chance with Rachel, but not while she was drunk. Kurt had to stop worrying about them when Blaine almost fell on his face and then started pushing Kurt up against the wall of the building behind them and started kissing him. Finn bid them farewell and walked the four streets with Rachel in his arms.

"You're so strong!" Rachel giggled. Her words were slurring. "You're like… like.. s-superman!"

"And you're drunk," Finn laughed. He couldn't help it, he knew he was blushing. He set Rachel on her feet and let them both into their apartment. He helped Rachel to the bedroom and laid her on the bed.

"Yeah, but you like meeee," Rachel sang. "If you didn't you would stop me from doing this."

And without any more warning than that, Rachel pulled Finn onto the bed with her and kissed him, full on. Finn didn't pull away and Rachel smiled into the kiss, waiting for Finn to relax before she pushed further. She wasn't at all surprised when Finn's tongue found its way into her mouth, nor was she surprised when minutes later they were both missing shirts.

"Rach, are you sure about this?" Finn asked. He had drunk a lot less than she had and still had use of his conscience. Rachel had started to toy with his belt, and against his better judgment he was removing her bra.

"Stop being a cock block," Rachel purred. She was kissing along his collar bone and looking up at him from under her eyelashes. He felt his jeans getting tighter. "Pants. Off."

As he struggled to obey, he noticed that somewhere along the way she had already lost her skirt and was left in nothing but a black lace thong. She quickly stripped him of his boxers and stood back to admire his naked body. He couldn't help that he blushed and tried to cover himself with the sheet, but but she pulled the sheet away and smiled. She pulled a condom out of the night stand and Finn wondered when she put it there. He didn't have much time to wonder, because as he put it on she flung her thong across the room and lunged at him.

"Rach, I – hnng – I'm not sure – oh my god," Finn stammered as Rachel explored his body with her hands and her tongue. He knew he should be stopping this, but she looked so nice with the moonlight spilling in from the window and shinning on her skin.

"Finn shut up. I've wanted you to fuck me since our first kiss," Rachel growled out. Holy shit, Finn had never seen her this way. "Stop over thinking it. Just… fuck me."

So Finn did just that. He stopped over thinking it and fucked her. Somewhere in the background he heard music, he realized Rachel must have turned on the radio at some point. He realized what song was playing right after he came; _First Time_ by Lifehouse.

_We're crashing  
>Into the unknown<br>We're lost in this  
>But it feels like home<em> __

_I'm feeling alive all over again  
>As deep as the sky that's under my skin<br>Like being in love, she says, for the first time  
>Maybe I'm wrong, I'm feeling right<br>Where I belong with you tonight  
>Like being in love to feel for the first time<em>

After Finn disposed of the condom and crawled back in bed, wrapping his arms tightly around Rachel's bare stomach, he fell asleep instantly. Rachel, even in her drunken state, knew she didn't regret it. She was sure Finn would probably ask her a million questions when they woke up so she enjoyed having her time to think. She realized quickly that even though she was drunk, her first time with Puck had been a lot worse.

_-7 years ago-_

Rachel and Puck had been back together for 6 months. Finn hadn't spoken to Rachel since she moved in with Puck, 5 months ago. Without Finn's advice and friendship, Rachel didn't know how to deal with Puck. Since she had returned, he had been pressuring her to have sex. Before they moved to New York, it hadn't seemed to matter. They had pleased each other orally but Puck had never attempted to go further.

Rachel suspected it was because of the other girl he'd been with, which made her angry. Although, it also made her want to give in and have sex with him. She wished she could talk to Finn, but she knew even if they were on speaking terms it would be stupid to ask him about this.

Every night for a week, Puck and Rachel would be in the middle of a heavy make-out session in bed and Puck would begin to undress her until she pushed him away. Then he would get mad and they wouldn't talk again until they woke up in the morning. It was a cool December night when Rachel finally gave in.

"Babe, you okay with this?" Puck grunted as he began kissing down her torso. She sighed in response, hoping he would interpret it as a sigh of pleasure when in reality it was a sigh of annoyance. She realized if she wanted to be with him, she'd have to have sex with him. She also realized that was the worst reason to have sex with someone, especially since it was her first time.

Puck jumped up to grab a condom, also turning on his "mood music" playlist. Rachel recognized the song as _First Time_ by Lifehouse, and then she let her mind wander. She thought about a lot of things, but only slightly about the small amount of pain and the small amount of pleasure. She thought about how she had told Kurt she always thought her first time would be with Finn, and had thought that since their kiss. She thought about what the girl Puck had been with before looked like. She thought about what she had to do the next day and what kind of job she wanted. But mostly, she thought about Finn and tried not to think about Puck.

When they were done, Rachel realized that instead of feeling happy or pleased, she felt like she had just completed a duty. She looked over to see Puck, sound asleep, facing the other way and then curled into herself and cried until she fell asleep. Worst. First. Time. Ever.

**-x-**

Finn woke up in a state of euphoria at noon. He looked around the apartment and couldn't find Rachel anywhere; dazed and confused he called her cell phone and heard it ringing in their bedroom. He really hoped he hadn't messed anything up, but he couldn't help feeling anxious as he called Kurt.

Before Kurt could even answer the phone, Rachel walked in the front door carrying about six take out boxes from the diner across the street. Finn put down his phone and helped her carry them to the kitchen, opening each one to see what food she had brought home. There were two omelets, bacon, sausage, a salad, a grilled cheese sandwich, and french fries.

"I woke up a few hours ago, surprisingly with no hangover. I would have woken you up but I didn't really know how much you drank and I figured you needed your sleep. I was hungry, so I got myself lunch and got you breakfast. I hope you're hungry," Rachel said. She took the salad, sandwich and fries for herself and got them both some lemonade that had somehow ended up in their fridge.

"Uh, yeah, I'm starved," Finn sheepishly admitted. He wanted to talk about last night, but he'd wait until Rachel brought it up. So instead, he just smiled at her and they both sat down at the table with their food. "Thanks Rach."

**A/N: **See, told you it'd be awkward! But now it's out of the way, and I can write good things! (Hopefully.) And just so you know, the conversation in Finn and Santana's first time memory thing IS COPIED FROM THE SHOW! It's not my own creativity at all! Just wanted to clear that up.  
>Er, please review? But be gentle! I'm really quite horrible at this stuff, I only do well with high emotions and high drama (aka the next few chapters).<br>OH! And another side note. So now that Rachel's back in New York, she's clearly going to be going to auditions and trying to be on Broadway and stuff, and I just want to warn you all that I know NOTHING about that, so be prepared for me to say thing incorrectly as those things happen. BE GENTLE BECAUSE I'M DUMB!  
>Thanks for reading :)<p>


	9. Oh, It's Love

**A/N:** Oops… It's been six months since I updated. Sorry! I had a lot of trouble starting this chapter, and then life got a little crazy. I'll try my best to update again in less than six months. No promises.

Song: Oh, It's Love by HelloGoodbye  
> watch?v=zY0dt9lQqw8

_**!**_

Rachel stood in front of the mirror, completely naked, after her shower. Her skin seemed to be glowing in a way she had never seen before. Her entire body seemed to be radiating the happiness she could feel in her heart. It was Tuesday morning, 4 days after she and Finn had had sex, and she was still ecstatic about it.

They hadn't talked about it. In fact, they hadn't even done as much as kiss since. Rachel assumed Finn felt awkward, thinking that he had taken advantage of Rachel in her inebriated state. She planned to clear that up for him as soon as she could. He was currently at his interview slash training session at the diner and she was anxiously awaiting his return.

At the diner, which they had discovered was actually just called 'The Diner', Finn was having the second best day ever. The first, of course, would have to be the other day when he and Rachel had sex. Being in the kitchen at the diner was the coolest thing. He had already been promised the job basically the minute he walked in the door. The other chef was teaching him how to cook things as orders came in. He had already made a few orders of the triple berry pancakes Rachel had loved so much, and he couldn't wait to make them for her at home.

Kurt and Blaine came into the diner while Finn was there working. Finn thought it was coincidental, but Rachel had actually told them. She wanted them to call her and tell her how he was doing after they left. Since the diner was so small, and Kurt and Blaine sat at the counter, Finn could see them through the kitchen window.

"Hey! Kurt and Blaine! What are you guys doing here?" Finn hollered out the window. Kurt and Blaine laughed; Finn looked pretty goofy leaning out the kitchen window wearing a hair net and an apron that was too small.

"What are you doing back there?" Blaine asked, pretending to be surprised. Kurt was too busy laughing to pretend he didn't know about Finn's new job.

"I got a job here! Pretty cool, huh?" Finn said animatedly. Kurt and Blaine nodded their heads and then went back to looking at the menu while Finn went back to cooking.

After the boys placed their orders, and Finn cooked them, the chef told him he was allowed a half hour break as long as he didn't take it during rush hour. Finn took his break so he could sit and chat with Kurt and Blaine. After the mandatory questions about his new job, Kurt brought up the topic they were both thinking about.

"So, uh, you and Rachel?" Kurt prompted. Finn bashfully shrugged his shoulders, not knowing what Rachel told Kurt. "Finn, she told me what happened. My question is: what are you going to do about it? I mean, I would hope you're not going to continue to be aloof and pretend nothing happened."

"What does she want? I thought she was mad at me for taking advantage of her, and I didn't know if I should say anything or just let her come to me when she was ready. I don't know, man. Did she sound happy when she told you about it? Did she sound like she regretted it? What should I do?" Finn nervously twisted his hands as he asked Kurt every question that entered his mind.

"Hey Finn, shut up," Kurt said and then laughed. Blaine swatted his arm for being so rude.

"Kurt, come on now, be sensitive," Blaine said; then he addressed Finn. "She sounded happy Finn. She doesn't regret it at all. You should take her out on a real date though. She's been waiting for you to ask her out since you guys got here."

"Yeah she wines to me about it on the phone like every day," Kurt complained. "Seriously though, you can't be this oblivious. She's a hot single girl in New York, and as often as she says she'll wait for you, let's be honest. She doesn't have to."

"You're right," Finn admitted. "I need to take her on a date. But, God, where do I take her?"

"Dig out that old date journal of yours," Kurt laughed.

_-12 years ago-_

Finn had been dreaming of asking Rachel Berry out for five months, ever since their first kiss last May. He was finally going to ask her out. Last June, Puck had taken her on their first date, but since he had been busy with his family all summer, he hadn't taken her on a second one. Rachel had begun to get discouraged that he'd ever ask her out again, and Finn just kept "forgetting" to tell her that Puck was going to ask her out again as soon as he could. Now, as September began, and school was about to start again, Finn had to ask her out while he still had the chance.

He pulled his date journal out from his desk. Kurt always made fun of him for it, but he'd seen Kurt taking a peek when he was planning a date with Blaine. It was organized by month and price range so dates were easy to plan and always appropriate. Finn flipped to the September section and looked first at the most expensive date range.

"Oh God, I definitely can't afford that," Finn mumbled to himself. He ignored his detailed plan about getting a private room at Rachel's favorite restaurant and turn to his cheaper date ideas. "Maybe…"

"Finn, are you talking to yourself?" Kurt said as he walked into Finn's room. "Oh my goodness, is that your date journal? Are you thinking about finally asking Rachel on a date? Please say yes. Please, please, please, say you're not looking at that thing to ask Quinn out. If you are, I might punch you."

"Uh, yeah, it's for Rach," Finn answered. He was still focused on trying to pick the first date. He considered a trip to the local cider mill, since it just opened, but that wasn't a great first date. "What about a picnic? Or, like, going to the park? I could bring my guitar and we could sing and stuff…"

"What about idea number 4? A camp site in the back yard would be cool. I can help you set up the tent and the campfire, and if you don't wanna extend the date overnight, she can just come sleepover with me," Kurt suggested. Finn beamed at him.

Just then Kurt's phone rang; they both saw Rachel's number flashing across the screen. Finn held a finger to his lips to tell Kurt not to say a word to Rachel about the date; Kurt nodded and left the room. A few minutes later, Kurt re-entered Finn's room with a pained expression.

"So, turns out, Puck just called her and asked her out again," Kurt said. "She said yes. And the date is backyard camping… I have a feeling he stole that idea from you."

Finn closed his date journal, defeated, and regretted the day last week that he let Puck flip through it. When Puck first asked to look at it, Finn thought it was just out of curiosity and he didn't think anything of it. He couldn't have been more naïve.

**-x-**

After Finn got off of work, he rushed home. He needed to ask Rachel out before he lost his nerve. Even though Kurt and Blaine had overly reassured him that she'd say yes, he was still nervous. He had planned out their entire date, and thought she'd be thoroughly surprised. Although he did still have his date journal, he couldn't use any ideas from it. Puck had stolen most of them.

When Finn entered the apartment, Rachel nowhere to be seen. However, her voice was being carried throughout the apartment. He could hear her messing with his guitar, and just as he had for the past week, he pretended not to notice. Blaine had let it slip that she was trying to learn guitar to surprise Finn. He recognized the song immediately. Oh, It Is Love by HelloGoodbye.

"_Someday holding hands in the end  
>All our broken plans will have been<br>I will kiss you soft so you know_

_It is love from the first  
>Time I pressed my lips against yours<br>Thinking, "Oh, is it love?"'_

"Rach! Hey Rach, I'm home!" Finn called, slamming the door shut. He didn't want her to think he had spoiled her surprise. "And, uh, I have something to ask you!"

"Oh, Finny! How was work?" Rachel said, clearly struggling to quickly put away the guitar. She came out to the main room of their apartment, frazzled and overly excited. "What do you have to ask?"

"My first day was great," Finn said, addressing her first question. He started nervously rubbing his hands together again, and Rachel pretended not to notice. "And, uh, well I was wondering if you'd like to go on a date with me?"

"Finally!" Rachel exclaimed. Then she remembered her manners. "I mean, yeah, I'd love to." The both laughed awkwardly, feeling an extreme sense of relief.

Rachel ran off to call Kurt, and Finn finalized the details of that date. They both decided, the sooner the better, so they were going out tonight. He was taking her to a dance studio that was a couple blocks down from their apartment. He couldn't dance if his life depended on it, but Rachel loved to dance. When she was living in New York before, she focused mainly on auditions but had been taking a few classes to help her. One of them was a dance class with a crazy teacher who she had hated, but the class itself was one of her favorites. Finn figured it was romantic and it would be lighthearted enough for their first date since he was so horrible at dancing.

"Hey Finn, I know you probably won't tell me what we're doing, but uh, can you tell me what to wear?" Rachel shouted from the bedroom. "Or just come pick something. I really hate trying to figure out what to wear when I have no idea what I'm dressing for."

Rachel thought about how often Puck used to do that to her. She really did hate it, it gave her all kinds of anxieties, but Puck was a big fan of "surprising" her. He would give her a general description of what to wear, but there were multiple occasions when she was either overdressed or underdressed because he hadn't told her anything. The only time he had actually prepared her for their date was when they camped out in his back yard.

_-12 years earlier-_

After an entire summer without hearing from Puck, Rachel was ready to give up. She kept hoping Finn would ask her out since Puck clearly wasn't, but he wasn't making any more of a move than he had before she went out with Puck. She didn't know what it would take for Finn to ask her out, but it clearly wasn't going to happen before school started. She was about to call Kurt and make plans for their last weekend of summer when Puck's name flashed across her phone's screen.

"Noah," Rachel said curtly. She couldn't help it; he had taken her on an amazing date, and then stopped talking to her for like three months. Who does that?! 

"Hey Rachel, I'm so sorry it took this long to call you. But Finn told you I was going to, right? I've had a lot going on with my dad, and I don't really want you to get involved with that," Puck said. Rachel didn't know how to respond, because no, Finn hadn't said anything, but Puck still should have called her. "I was calling to ask you on a second date tonight, if you're willing to give me a second chance."

"One more chance." Rachel sighed. She would have preferred that Finn asked her out, but she did like Puck and their first date was a lot of fun. "But you have to tell me what we're doing! I don't like surprises. I have to be able to call Kurt and plan an outfit!"

"How can you not like surprises? Fine. Because I'm the one begging for a second chance here, I'll tell you what we're doing, but don't get used to it," Puck laughed. "We're going camping in my backyard. I will be setting up two tents, so you don't have to sleep in the same tent as me unless you want to, but we're going to have a campfire and tell ghost stories, and I'll play my guitar. It's gonna rock."

"I'm impressed Noah, I didn't think you had such creative ideas in you. First the laser tag and now this? You must know me a lot better than I thought you did," Rachel admitted. Little did she know, both ideas had been stolen from Finn's date journal. Puck looked at it every time he was at the Hummel-Hudson household, and he texted himself all the ideas that he liked.

Rachel said goodbye to Puck and called Kurt immediately. She gushed to him about how unexpectedly creative Puck was and how she had thought dates like this only happened in movies. Kurt responded with unenthusiastic "hmm"s and "ahh"s so Rachel figured he was busy and made an excuse of needing to get ready and said she'd call him tomorrow. She was disappointed that she couldn't ask his outfit advice, but he wasn't being very much help.

Kurt had been acting weird around her lately and she didn't know why. He was always inviting her over, and then ditching her with Finn. She didn't mind, because she loved spending time with Finn alone, but she missed the way Kurt was before he'd met Blaine. Now he was always either with Blaine, on the phone with Blaine, or texting Blaine. They were literally in constant contact. Rachel couldn't imagine how they didn't get sick of each other. She and Finn were in constant contact, but she'd never dream of talking to Puck that much.

Puck picked her up at 5pm. Even though they were going to his house, he insisted on picking her up and meeting her dads. The was a knock on the door at exactly 5pm, and when Hiram and Leroy opened it, Puck was standing there, sans mohawk. They invited him in, and he handed them a gift bag he had been holding.

"Finn told me how much you two love tea, and my mom started making her own tea this summer. Don't worry; lots of people have tried it. It's actually good. There's a little description card in there," Puck smiled at them. Finn hadn't actually said anything about them liking tea, but his date journal had. And his mom had actually started making tea over the summer, but without Finn's date journal he never would have known to bring it to the Berry's.

From behind his back, he pulled out a bouquet of pink roses and handed them to Rachel. She smiled, deciding this would not be the time to tell him that she liked bouquets of white and red roses, not pink ones. If they ever become a couple, she could train him.

But he brought the same flowers, date after date, and he never told her what to wear or where they were going. Rachel tried training him, but it never worked. She just gave up, and pretended it didn't bug her when she wore a dress to the cider mill or jeans to her favorite restaurant. And pink flowers were technically white and red combined…

**-x-**

Finn walked into the guest bedroom and plucked a black dress off the hanging rack Rachel had put up. He handed it to her and told her their date would officially begin in one hour, then without a word, he disappeared. Rachel called out to him, but all she heard was the front door slamming shut. She didn't know where Finn was going, but she had a lot to do. The black dress was somewhat fancy, so she was excited to do her hair and make-up. She loved dressing up.

50 minutes later, Rachel heard the door again. Finn came in and went straight to their room without saying a single thing to her. She had curled her hair and pulled it into a ponytail, wrapping a strand around the hair tie. She had spent a majority of the time perfecting her smoky-but-natural eye shadow, and was just now applying lip gloss. She hadn't realized it had been almost an hour until Finn got home.

Ten minutes later, he knocked on the guest bedroom door. She realized this was his dorky way of 'picking her up' for their date. She opened it to see him standing behind a giant bouquet of red and white roses. Her favorite. He was wearing a black slacks and a black button down and he looked absolutely dashing, with a red tie that reminded Rachel of their senior year nationals outfits. He handed her the roses, already in a vase, and grabbed the red corsage off the hall table behind him. Rachel burst into an uncontrollable fit of giggles. So far this date was better than she had dreamed it would be, and it hadn't even started.

"I know you hate surprises, but I didn't want your input on this. I wanted to plan it all on my own," Finn started. "You know that dance studio a couple blocks down? We have a tango lesson at 5. They had this cool-sounding free-couples dance, but, uh, I still can't dance so I figured it be safer for both of us if we did a lesson instead. And, um, afterwards we're going to The Diner, but don't worry, its set up all special and nice. We don't know any of the fancy restaurants around here yet, so I'm improvising."

Rachel kissed him, effectively shutting him up. He tended to ramble anytime he was excited or nervous. She hoped this was excited rambling. She couldn't believe he had planned such a perfect date in a city they barely knew. She grabbed her black dance heels and they walked to the studio hand in hand. Neither of them knew anything about the dance studio, they had only caught a glimpse of it when they were headed into town, and Finn had asked Kurt to make the appointment. When they got there, they saw it was called Chang's and looked at each other, briefly wondering.

They didn't have long to wonder, the minute they walked in the door two familiar Asian's came barreling towards them shouting "Finchel!" as loud as possible. It sort of broke the vibe of the studio, but neither Tina nor Mike cared. The four embraced in a giant bear hug.

"So Finn, you finally got to ask her out?" Mike asked, after he pulled Finn to the side, assuming they were out of hearing range from the girls. They weren't. "Took you long enough. Although, I guess if Puck stolen every single one of my date ideas in high school, it probably would have taken me a while to ask Tina out too."

Rachel heard this and looked at Tina with wide eyes. Tina just nodded her head and put a finger to her lips. If they could hear the boys, the boys would be able to hear them too. She pulled Rachel off into the woman's change room, where Tina had to change into a dress. She didn't help teach many of the classes, so she had been in jeans for most of the day.

"Finn had this date journal in high school, and that one time Finn took you to the doctor and you guys missed glee, Puck admitted that every date he had taken you on came from Finn's date idea journal. He told us that Finn had said it was okay, but deep down we all knew that was a lie," Tina informed her. Rachel missed Tina, she was the biggest gossip in the group, but she had been quiet as a mouse until the end of Rachel's senior year. Rachel decided not to say anything to Finn about her new discovery, not just yet.

Tina and Mike spent the next two hours trying to teach Finn how to dance. Rachel already knew what she was doing, but she had a blast watching Finn tango with Mike, and he managed to only step on her feet twice, which hadn't hurt because Tina had made him take off his shoes at the beginning of their lesson. By the end, Finn made it through a whole dance without messing up. All three of his friends congratulated him, and Rachel kissed him on the cheek, ignoring the whistles and and coos from Mike and Tina. The four agreed to stay in touch now that they were all in New York, and Finn and Rachel departed for The Diner.

Finn had told Rachel that it would be nice, but she had her doubts. She had been in The Diner yesterday, and she doubted the sticky old fashion booths, dirt stained floor, and pee colored walls could ever be made "nice." She loved The Diner for its charm, but it wasn't a place she would wear a dress too. However, when Finn held the door for her and she took a step inside, she was shocked at the transformation. The lights had been dimmed, successfully hiding the dirty floor and ugly wall color. All the tables were covered in elegant red table cloths; the booths had been expertly cleaned. The center tables, normally fit for four, had all been hidden somewhere out of sight, and in the middle of the room was one table set for two. There were candles and red and white roses in the middle. In the corner of the room was a jukebox, which Finn had somehow gotten to play an entire playlist of songs they had performed as duets, either in glee or when they were just goofing off. Rachel actually started crying.

"Rach? Are you – are you crying? Did I do something wrong? I'm sorry; I thought you'd like it. We can go somewhere else," Finn stammered nervously. Rachel shook her head and took his hand.

"It's absolutely perfect Finny. I can't believe you did all this for me," Rachel said. She was still crying a little.

"I'd do anything for you Rach," Finn whispered. He offered her his arm, and escorted her to the table. The minute they were seated, the girl who was normally the hostess/cashier, Kelly, appeared decked out in a waiters outfit. She set a glass of Rachel's favorite wine in front of both of them, handed them their menus and disappeared.

Rachel was shocked to see the normal menu had been replaced with a sparkly piece of cream cardstock, printed on with thick black script. This menu didn't offer choices, instead it just detailed the three course meal they were about to have, none of which was on the normal menu. She looked up at Finn and he shrugged.

"Chef Ty eaves dropped when Kurt and Blaine stopped by, which I know you had something to do with, by the way." Finn paused to look at Rachel, who was sporting the perfect look of confused innocence, until she started giggling. "He heard me kind of freaking out about planning a perfect date, and then he badgered me with questions for the entire remainder of my shift. This was what we came up with."

"Why were you freaking out? Any date with you would have been perfect. I've been waiting for this for, oh, I don't know, thirteen years?" Rachel laughed. She hesitated before speaking again. "Finny, I think I overheard something between you and Mike that I maybe wasn't supposed to know. Did you… Did you really have a date idea journal? And did Puck actually steal all his date ideas from it?"

Finn shifted awkwardly in his seat. He didn't want to lie and say no, but he didn't want to rat out his best friend. And part of him felt a little weird about the whole date journal, since all of the dates had been designed for Rachel and he had never asked her out. He nodded yes and looked at his shoes. After a minute or two of silence, he looked up to see the cutest expression on Rachel's face. She looked confused and hurt, but even more than that she looked touched and thrilled. She reached across the table and took his hand, just as Kelly came back with their salads.

After their salads, they were presented with an extremely elegant plate of shrimp scampi, Rachel's favorite pasta, and then the most decadent chocolate lave cake either of them had ever tasted. Chef Ty really knew how to cook. When they were done eating, Finn stopped in the kitchen to thank Kelly and Chef Ty, and when he came out _Oh, It's Love_ was playing. Rachel was standing in a large empty space, and she wiggled her finger, calling Finn to her. He took right hand in his left, and placed his other hand on her hip, and they danced. They danced well past the end of the song, and at some point Kelly and Chef Ty had put The Diner back together. When Finn and Rachel finally left, it was 2am and the usual late night customers were crowding the place.

"You better not wait thirteen years to ask me out again, Mr. Hudson, or I might have to slap you," Rachel teased him later. They were both in their pajamas, curled up on the sofa, not paying any attention to the movie playing on the TV.

"I won't even way thirteen hours. Rachel Berry, will you go out with me again tomorrow?" Finn asked. Rachel just laughed and nodded. "Good, because I've already planned out our first five dates. Don't worry, I'll tell you all about them… Well, I'll tell you everything you need to know about them. I'll be keeping a few surprises to myself."

Rachel hummed happily. Somehow, the thought of Finn surprising her didn't make her anxious at all, in fact, it made her excited. She couldn't wait to see what he had planned, and mentally made a note to ask Kurt if Finn had bought a journal recently. As she began to fall asleep, Finn picked her up and carried her to their bed. She fell asleep, reminiscing on how perfect their first week in New York had been.

**A/N: **I'm sorry it's so short and not that great! It's been a long time since I've written any fan fiction, and recently I've been working on my novel and writing an insane amount of college application essays… I can't promise I'll update soon, I'm in the process of applying to eight universities for next year… I'll update as soon as I can!


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